The U.S. peace plan for Ukraine: a leaky blueprint faces rewrites and deadlines

In a rare admission of diplomatic vulnerability, the Trump administration has conceded that its ambitious 28-point blueprint for ending Russia’s war in Ukraine “will not fly” without major revisions.

The confession, leaked alongside the full plan to U.S. media outlets on Thursday, exposes a document riddled with Moscow’s fingerprints – and signals a turbulent path ahead for negotiations, as a 27 November deadline looms over Kyiv.

Sergiy Sydorenko, chief editor of European Pravda, revealed that an updated version of the plan has already reached Ukrainian officials, stripped of some of its more contentious clauses.

“These points should not be taken as something agreed upon,” sources close to the talks told the outlet.

The original draft, a hybrid of American bravado and Kremlin wish-listing, included bizarre stipulations like banning “all Nazi ideologies and activities” – a nod to Russian propaganda that no self-respecting U.S. diplomat would author alone.

The leak has fuelled scepticism in Kyiv, where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy faces an agonizing bind. In a sombre Friday address to the nation, Zelenskyy framed the dilemma starkly: Ukraine risks either forsaking its “dignity” by swallowing unpalatable terms or alienating its most vital ally, the United States.

“This is a difficult choice,” he said, urging unity as the clock ticks toward Trump’s ultimatum.

The deadline, insiders say, stems from White House impatience with stalled battlefield dynamics and domestic pressures in Washington.

A new player has appeared

Behind the scenes, the plan’s evolution reflects internal Trump team jockeying. Initially, real estate mogul Steve Witkoff – co-drafter and Trump’s Middle East envoy – was slated to pitch the proposal to Ukrainian counterparts during a cancelled rendez-vous in Turkey. But that slot went to a rival faction: Vice President J.D. Vance’s inner circle.

On Wednesday, as Zelenskyy wrapped a Middle East trip, a high-powered Pentagon delegation touched down in Kyiv, led by U.S. Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll, a Yale Law classmate and longtime Vance confidant.

The visit began with routine defence huddles – discussing joint arms production and sanctions enforcement – but pivoted Thursday to peace talks. Driscoll, a Republican operative who rode Vance’s coattails into office after his own congressional bids fizzled, brought a softer touch than Witkoff’s rumoured arm-twisting.

“They expressed understanding that this is existentially important for Ukraine,” one negotiator told European Pravda. “Ukraine’s interests must be taken into account.”

Gone was the overt blackmail; in its place, pragmatic horse-trading. Yet U.S. officials privately warn of limits: The final deal will demand “concessions from both sides,” irrespective of Russia being the aggressor.

Putin’s reading

From Moscow, the plan draws cautious intrigue. At a Friday Security Council huddle, President Vladimir Putin claimed Trump’s outline was hashed out in “general terms” before an August Alaska summit and “modernized” afterward, ostensibly in response to Kyiv’s rebuff of an earlier iteration.

Delivered via “available channels,” the 28 points aren’t under active discussion with Russia yet, Putin said – but they could “lay the basis for a final settlement.”

He touted Russia’s battlefield edge while feigning readiness for talks: “We are also prepared for peaceful negotiations… a substantive discussion of all details.”

As transatlantic tensions simmer, Europe is scrambling to counterbalance Washington’s unilateralism. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, speaking on Saturday from the G20 in South Africa, disclosed that summit attendees are brainstorming a “European proposal” to tweak Trump’s plan.

“For a country to give up territories it controls… contradicts Ukraine’s constitution,” Støre argued, echoing Kyiv’s red lines on sovereignty. He urged seizing the blueprint as a ceasefire springboard but stressed the need for EU unity to “create a counterbalance” on deal-breakers like territorial cessions or military caps.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen amplified the call, announcing an ad-hoc Ukraine huddle on G20 sidelines. “Europeans must unite,” she said, hinting at bolstering security guarantees or reconstruction aid to sweeten the pot for Ukraine.

For Zelenskyy, the week has been a whirlwind of leaks, deadlines, and shifting envoys. Driscoll may emerge as the “new Kellogg” – a steady hand like the retired general once eyed for the role – but questions linger: will Vance’s pragmatism prevail? And can Kyiv bend without breaking?

Caption: File photo. A handout photo made available by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service shows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) and US Vice President JD Vance (R) sit for a meeting in Rome, Italy, 18 May 2025. EPA/UKRAINE PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE