Details of US President Donald Trump’s 28-point peace plan to end Russia’s four-year war with Ukraine are emerging, with media outlets and officials acknowledging that the plan, which has not yet been officially announced, appears to be favorable to Russia.
Russia’s state news agency RIA said on Friday that the Kremlin had not yet been informed of Ukraine’s readiness to hold negotiations over the plan.
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Details of the plan emerged after U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Walz told the U.N. Security Council on Thursday afternoon that the United States had offered Russia “generous conditions, including sanctions relief.”
“The United States has made the highest level of personal investment by the president to end this war,” Walz told the council.
Meanwhile, Russia’s relentless attack on Ukraine continues. A Russian airstrike on the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhia late Thursday killed five people and injured three others, emergency services said. Russia is gaining influence in the Zaporizhzhya region, which includes cities in southeastern Ukraine that straddle both banks of the Dnipro River.
AFP reported on Friday that the plan, which the United States considers a “working document,” states that “Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk will be recognized as de facto Russia, including by the United States.”
This is in line with a previous report by US media Axios.
The Associated Press also reported Friday that the plan would require Ukraine to surrender the Donbass region, which includes Luhansk and Donetsk regions, which Ukraine currently partially occupies.
According to the Associated Press, the draft would give Moscow control of the entire eastern Donbas region, although about 14% would still remain in Ukraine’s hands.
AFP and the Associated Press also confirmed earlier Axios reporting that the plan calls for limiting the size of troops in Ukraine.
The plan specifically states that the number of military personnel will be capped at 600,000, according to AFP news agency. It is estimated that there are currently just under 900,000 active military personnel in Ukraine.
“Neutral Demilitarized Zone”
Late Thursday Ukrainian time, Ukrainian parliamentarian Oleksiy Goncharenko shared a document outlining the 28-point peace plan to his 223,000 followers on the messaging app Telegram.
Russia’s state-run TASS news agency also reported details contained in the document shared by Goncharenko, saying it was “alleged to be a translation into Ukrainian of 28 points of the new US plan for a peace settlement in Ukraine.”
New details included in the document shared by Goncharenko include that “Ukraine has the right to join the European Union” and that “the United States will work with Ukraine to jointly restore, develop, modernize, and operate Ukraine’s gas infrastructure, including pipelines and storage facilities.”
The document also states that Ukraine’s “Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant will operate under the supervision of the (United Nations Atomic Energy Agency) IAEA, and the electricity generated will be shared equally between Russia and Ukraine in a 50:50 ratio.”
The text of the document shared by Goncharenko also states that “Ukrainian forces will withdraw from the part of the Donetsk region that they currently control, and this withdrawal zone will be considered a neutral demilitarized buffer zone.”
Handing over territory to Russia is highly unpopular in Ukraine and is illegal under Ukraine’s constitution. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has repeatedly denied such a possibility.
President Zelenskiy said he was ready to work with the United States on the plan, despite opposition from European allies who say the U.S.-backed plan heavily favors Russia. Mr. Zelensky’s office confirmed Thursday that he had received a draft plan and said he planned to meet with Mr. Trump in the coming days.
“Ukraine needs peace, and true peace is a peace that cannot be broken by a third (Russian) invasion. A dignified peace is one in which conditions are in place for respect for our independence, sovereignty and the dignity of the Ukrainian people,” the president of Ukraine said in a telegram.
Ukraine is not a member of NATO
AFP also reported that according to the plan, European fighter jets would be based in Poland, specifically to protect Ukraine.
However, Kiev will have to admit that it will not station NATO troops in Ukraine and will never join the military alliance.
Further details reported by the Associated Press include a promise by Russia not to attack Ukraine in the future, which the White House sees as a Russian concession.
Additionally, $100 billion in frozen Russian assets will be used to rebuild Ukraine, the Associated Press reported.
According to AFP, the plan would see Russia rejoin the G8 and reintegrate into the global economy.
White House press secretary Caroline Levitt said Thursday that the plan involves both Ukrainians and Russians and that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff have been quietly reviewing it for a month.
