U.S. President Donald Trump (left) greets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, DC, on October 17, 2025.
Win McNamee | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday that Kyiv is “preparing for clear and honest work” on developing a peace plan to end the war with Russia, after receiving a draft proposal from the U.S. delegation.
On Tuesday, Axios reported that a secret peace deal was being drawn up by Washington and Russia, and some media outlets said a breakthrough could be imminent.
President Zelenskyy said in a post on the social networking site Telegram that he met with a high-level US delegation on Thursday and had a “very serious dialogue”.
“The American side presented a proposal, a vision, which is the essence of a plan to end the war,” he said.
The 28-point peace plan drawn up by the United States and Russia reportedly includes conditions such as for Ukraine to give up territory in the eastern Donbas region and reduce its military by half.
President Zelensky has previously rejected the idea that Kiev might cede land to Moscow in exchange for peace, but in a post on Thursday he hinted that his position on maintaining Ukraine’s borders remains unchanged.
“From the first days of the war, we have supported a very simple position: Ukraine needs peace… in conditions that respect our independence, sovereignty and dignity of the Ukrainian people,” he said.
“I have outlined our key principles, and we have agreed that our teams will work to ensure that all of these proposals are genuine…We stand ready for clear and honest work, together with our friends and partners in Ukraine, the United States, and in Europe and around the world.”
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Callas called for Europe to come to the negotiating table as a peace plan is rushed through.
“In this war, there is one aggressor and one victim. So far I have not heard any concessions from the Russian side,” he told reporters.
President Zelenskiy said in a statement Thursday that Kiev “will not make any sharp statements,” adding that he plans to meet with US President Donald Trump in the coming days.
“We are fully aware that American strength and American support can bring true peace closer, and we do not want to lose that.” “The United States has the power to ensure that Russia’s intent to end the war is ultimately serious, and I will continue to work 100 percent for this.”
US plan ‘will leave Ukraine completely vulnerable’
Guntram Wolff, a senior researcher at Bruegel University, told CNBC’s “European Early Edition” on Friday that the deal is unlikely to be approved in its current form.
“When you look at the details of this peace plan…I don’t think it’s really possible, because at its core it says that Ukraine should give up a significant portion of its military personnel. That would mean that the number of military personnel would be reduced by about a third, from 900,000 to 600,000, and there would be no NATO forces in Ukraine,” he said.
“That would leave Ukraine completely vulnerable to a new attack from Russia at a later stage. And we know what has happened in the past. There could be some kind of ceasefire, and within a few months Russia could decide to strike again. What I really think is that if we want a peace plan, it needs to be one where Ukraine has the power and the ability to defend itself if necessary.”
