Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is under pressure to accept President Donald Trump’s 28-point plan to end the nearly four-year-old war with Russia.
Trump Admin unveils 28-point plan to end Russia-Ukraine war
The Trump Administration unveiled a preliminary 28-point peace plan for Russia and Ukraine with territorial concessions and NATO restrictions
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has given Ukraine less than a week to respond to his plan to give up land and reduce the size of its military as part of a peace agreement with Russia that would end their nearly four-year-old war.
Trump’s proposal would see Ukraine give up territory in exchange for security guarantees from the U.S. and a pledge from Russia not to reinvade, putting an official end to the war that Moscow launched in February 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is under pressure from the Trump administration to agree to the 28-point plan that U.S. officials this week formally presented to his government. Moscow has said the plan could form the basis for a peace agreement, while supporters of Ukraine, including prominent members of Republican Party, have bashed it due to the territorial concessions Zelenskyy’s government would have to make.
“We have a way of getting peace, or we think we have a way of getting to peace. He’s going to have to approve it,” Trump said of Zelenskyy on Nov. 21 in the Oval Office.
What’s inside of Trump’s 28-point plan to end Russia-Ukraine war
If the U.S.-led peace plan remains unchanged, the lines of conflict in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia would be frozen, with Russia retaining almost all of the area it currently occupies.
The Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014, would remain under Moscow’s control. So would the Luhansk and Donetsk areas in eastern Ukraine.
Russia’s military controls most, but not all, of the Donetsk region — which means it would gain some territory it doesn’t currently occupy. It would get to split the electricity produced by Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia. President Vladimir Putin would also be welcomed back into an elite economic club for advanced economies, alongside the U.S. and its most powerful allies.
As punishment for Russia for its unprovoked attack on Ukraine, it would lose financial assets that the U.S. has previously frozen. Under Trump’s plan, $100 billion worth of the assets, which are primarialy held in Europe, would be used to rebuild and invest in Ukraine, with the U.S. taking 50% of the profits from this venture. Europe would also pay $100 billion to help with Ukraine’s reconstruction.
“The remainder of the frozen Russian funds will be invested in a separate US-Russian investment vehicle that will implement joint projects in specific areas,” the proposal says. “This fund will be aimed at strengthening relations and increasing common interests to create a strong incentive not to return to conflict.”
Sanctions would be lifted on a case-by-case basis and Russia would work with the U.S. on artificial intelligence and rare earth metal extraction projects in the Arctic.
Ukraine would be expected to make steep concessions, too. In addition to the land Ukraine would be giving up to Russia, it would forgo a bid for NATO membership and agree to cap its army at 600,000 personnel. As of January, the country had an estimated 880,000 active-duty personnel.
The nation would be allowed to join the European Union, and children who were forcibly taken from Ukraine would be returned. Ukraine would have to hold elections within 100 days after their suspension under martial law during the war.
Zelenksyy was elected to a five-year term in 2019 that would have ended in 2024 were it not for the war. He’s suggested that he will not run for reelection.
Trump gives Ukraine until Thanksgiving to assess his plan
Trump said he’s given Ukraine a loose deadline of Nov. 27 to assess his proposal during a radio interview on Nov. 21.
“I’ve had a lot of deadlines, but if things are working well, you tend to extend the deadlines. But Thursday is we think is an appropriate time,” Trump said during The Brian Kilmeade Show on Fox News Radio.
They were the American president’s first public comments on the proposal since Axios revealed its existence earlier this week. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Nov. 20 that Trump backs the plan that was spearheaded by his special envoy Steve Witkoff.
“The president supports this plan. It’s a good plan for both Russia and Ukraine, and we believe that it should be acceptable to both sides,” Leavitt announced.
Zelenskyy said in a Nov. 21 address that the pressure on Ukraine to accept a deal has intensified.
“Ukraine may now face a very difficult choice. Either the loss of dignity, or the risk of losing a key partner. Either the 28 difficult points, or an extremely difficult winter,” Zelenskyy said in translated remarks.
Zeleskyy, Putin respond Trump-backed peace plan
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he’s working “constructively” with the U.S. on a peace plan to end Ukraine’s war with Russia.
Trump plan draws a sharp response from Ukraine backers
Trump’s proposal has drawn sharp criticism from Ukraine backers, including some Republicans who are typically aligned with the second-term president.
“A negotiated settlement that allows Putin to claim victory by recognizing Russia’s claim to Ukrainian territory would reverse the progress President Trump made restoring the deterrence lost under Biden,” former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote on X.
Pompeo served in Trump’s Cabinet his entire first term.
Senate Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker, a Republican who represents Mississippi, said in a statement that the “so-called ‘peace plan’ has real problems.” Wicker said that a suggestion in the plan that the U.S. could work with “a serial liar and killer like Putin” on nuclear arm control should be treated with skepticism.
“Ukraine should not be forced to give up its lands to one of the world’s most flagrant war criminals in Vladimir Putin,” he said. “And any assurances provided to Putin should not reward his malign behavior or undermine the security of the United States or allies.”
Trump said on Kilmeade’s show that if Ukraine doesn’t make a deal now, it will end up losing territory to Russia anyway. The president also dismissed concerns that Putin would set his sights on nearby NATO nations if he isn’t stopped in Ukraine.
“They’ll be stopped. He’s not looking for more war. He’s taken punishment,” Trump said.
Russia says Trump plan could be the basis for a settlement
U.S. officials cast Trump’s proposal as a preliminary one that it is workshopping with both nations after it leaked to journalists. The 28-point plan that was obtained by USA TODAY and other news outlets and published online hours after it was formally presented to Ukraine by the Trump administration.
Putin said on Nov. 21 that Trump’s proposal “could form the basis for a final peace settlement” but it had not been discussed with Russia in detail. He said that if Ukraine did not consent to the plan, its military would be defeated on the battlefield.
Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and a delegation of U.S. military brass discussed the proposal with Zelenskyy during a trip to Kyiv this week.
Zelenskyy said after his meeting with Driscoll that his country does not want to lose America’s support and does not want to be characterized as undermining negotiations. However, he said he continues to believe that Russia does not have a genuine desire for peace.
Zelenskyy consults Ukraine’s allies, discusses plan with JD Vance
The Ukrainian leader has been holding calls with Western allies and said on Nov. 21 that he spent almost an hour on the phone speaking to Driscoll and Vice President JD Vance discussing the details of the proposal.
“We’re working to make the path forward dignified and truly effective for achieving a lasting peace,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X. “Ukraine has always respected and continues to respect U.S. President Donald Trump’s desire to put an end to the bloodshed, and we view every realistic proposal positively.”
Vance voted against Ukraine aid as a senator and clashed with Zelenskyy earlier this year in the Oval Office. He’s generally viewed as more isolationist than Trump and said during a Nov. 20 event hosted by Breitbart News that he wants Russia and Ukraine to normalize economic relations.
Contributing: Kim Hjelmgaard