Trump Ukraine peace plan: Territory ceded, NATO hopes abandoned
A ‘working document’ obtained by media reveals the extraordinary price Ukraine would pay for peace with Russia.
A draft 28-point peace proposal backed by Donald Trump would see Ukraine surrender large portions of its territory, dramatically reduce its military, and abandon NATO membership hopes – while Russia rejoins the G8 and receives sanctions relief.
A sweeping peace plan for Ukraine backed by US President Donald Trump has been obtained by AFP, revealing a proposal that would see Kyiv make extraordinary concessions to Russia, while Moscow faces minimal military restrictions.
The 28-point document, which US officials described as a “working document,” outlines a deal that would force Ukraine to cede vast swathes of eastern territory, pledge never to join NATO, and slash its armed forces by nearly half.
In return, Russia would be welcomed back into the international fold with readmission to the G8 group of nations and relief from the crippling sanctions imposed after its 2022 invasion.
The proposal marks a dramatic shift from Ukraine’s previous position of refusing to surrender any territory and represents a significant victory for many of Moscow’s maximalist demands.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he expected to discuss the plan with Trump “in coming days.” He insisted any deal must bring a “dignified peace” that respected Kyiv’s sovereignty.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the controversial proposal, telling reporters: “The president supports this plan. It’s a good plan for both Russia and Ukraine.”
She denied reports that Washington had cooked up the proposal with Moscow, saying envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio had been “quietly” working with both sides for the past month.
Under the plan, Trump himself would preside over a “peace council” to oversee the ceasefire, similar to arrangements proposed for the Gaza truce between Israel and Hamas.
Territory
The most controversial elements of the proposal directly correspond to Moscow’s previous demands, while crossing Ukraine’s stated red lines.
Ukraine would be required to completely withdraw from the Lugansk and Donetsk regions – the frontline industrial belt known collectively as the Donbas that Ukraine still partly holds.
These two regions, along with Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, “will be recognised as de facto Russian, including by the United States,” according to the draft. A demilitarised zone would be created in the Donbas.
The war-torn southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia – which Russia falsely claims to have annexed – will be “frozen along the line of contact,” the document states.
Russia’s army currently occupies around a fifth of Ukraine, much of it devastated by three years of brutal fighting.
Ukraine security
Ukraine had been pushing hard for European-led peacekeepers to guarantee its security, but Russia’s refusal to accept any such force appears to have prevailed.
NATO would agree not to station troops in Ukraine under the plan, while the country would be barred from joining NATO by both its own constitution and the alliance’s statutes – ending Kyiv’s long-held aspirations for membership.
Perhaps most dramatically, Ukraine would be required to reduce its military by just under half, cutting troop numbers to 600,000 personnel.
In exchange, Ukraine would receive “reliable security guarantees,” though the plan doesn’t specify what these would entail. However, “European fighter jets” would be stationed in neighbouring Poland.
The proposal also demands Ukraine hold elections within 100 days – another Russian demand that was echoed by Trump earlier this year when he called Zelensky a “dictator without elections.”
Amid a spiralling corruption scandal that has already claimed the jobs of two ministers, a senior US official told AFP that Kyiv had removed language about an audit of foreign aid and replaced it with a call for a “full amnesty.”
G8 return for Russia?
Russia would enjoy significant diplomatic and economic benefits under the proposal, with minimal military restrictions imposed.
Moscow would be “reintegrated into the global economy” and allowed back into the G8, from which it was expelled in 2014 after annexing Crimea. Sanctions would only snap back if Russia invades Ukraine again.
Notably, Russia faces few military limitations, with the plan stating only that “it is expected that Russia will not invade neighbouring countries.”
The contents have fuelled suggestions that Moscow was directly involved in drafting the proposal. “It seems that the Russians proposed this to the Americans, they accepted it,” a senior Ukrainian source told AFP.
However, US officials insisted all sides were involved in the negotiations. Zelensky also met a Pentagon delegation headed by US Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll in Kyiv on Thursday.
The timing of the plan’s emergence has raised eyebrows, coming as Zelensky faces a domestic corruption crisis and Russia continues its grinding offensive on the ground.
Russia claimed Thursday to have recaptured the key city of Kupiansk in eastern Ukraine – which Kyiv denied – as Putin visited an army command post to speak with officers. A Russian strike on Zaporizhzhia killed five people and wounded three others, emergency services reported.
Since returning to the White House, Trump’s position on the Ukraine war has shifted dramatically. He rowed with Zelensky during an Oval Office meeting in February, but has also shown increasing frustration with Putin after a summit in Alaska produced no results.
-With AFP
