The US peace plan to end the war in Ukraine offers no concessions to the war-torn country – Ukraine – amid subtle compromise for Russia in its demand to take over the entire territory.
Offering no justified reasons for Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to accept the proposed plan, the new 28-point plan is a no-win situation for the second-largest country of Europe, some US officials and experts said.
What changes for Russia
US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, devised the peace plan after consulting both Ukrainian and Russian officials.
The proposed pact calls for Ukrainian to surrender the entire Donbas region while Russia would abandon its vow to take over the entire country.
According to New York Post, the handed-over area to Russia would include territory that Vladimir Putin-led military been unable to secure for more than a decade.
As Russia keeps targeting Ukraine’s energy grid, Trump doubled down on his view that President Volodymyr Zelensky “doesn’t have the cards” to keep fighting, AP reported.
Although the latest settlement tilts heavily in Russia’s favour, Trump in an Oval Office appearance said, “He’s (Zelensky) going to have to approve it” for peace as he sought response latest by next Thursday.
Giving an insight into the agreement, a source familiar with the matter said, “This plan obviously stops [Putin] in his tracks, ends the war – and also forces him to relinquish some territory, which you know is a huge loss for him and for Russia.”
What changes for Ukraine
As per Trump’s peace plan, Ukraine would never join NATO, shrink its armed forces to 600,000 personnel from its current estimated 900,000 personnel. The proposed pact also calls for Ukraine to grant amnesty for all parties involved in wartime actions.
“The proposal is a bad deal and one that the Trump administration rightfully refused to accept in the past,” New Yor Post quoted George Barros, leader at Institute for the Study of War Russia program as saying.
He added, “Deterring future Russian aggression against Ukraine requires a strong Ukrainian military, foreign support to Ukraine – ideally in the form of foreign troops in-country – and a defendable frontline.”
According to a senior US official, the main obstacle in making Russian officials to agree to accept the agreement was that they can’t take over all of Ukraine. Referring to the sticking point, he said, “I mean, look, everyone knows Vladimir Putin wants to take the whole country,” adding, “That’s his been his long-sought goal. That is something he’s made quite clear. The president is very aware of that.”
On the discussed terms of the proposed plan, Ukrainian Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umerov gave “positive feedback” during his recent talks with Steve Witkoff in Miami. “The plan was drawn up immediately following discussions with one of the most senior members of Zelensky’s administration, Umerov,” the official informed New York Post.
He further noted that though Ukrainian Secretary agreed to the majority of this plan, several modifications were made to it which were then presented to Ukraine President.