So far Referred to as 28 points The American peace plan actually consists of only 19 points, and substantial changes have been made to several parts, mostly in favor of the Ukrainians – claims several sources with insight into the negotiations. What they certainly have in common is that they are both anonymous and do not say too much about the details of the changes, so it is difficult to say how much the draft, which was originally an ultimatum to Kiev and largely favorable to the Russians, which Donald Trump wants to have accepted by Ukraine by Thursday, actually softens.
The original draft of the agreement to end the Russia-Ukraine war was leaked to the press last week. This favored in basic things to the Russians, who could occupy the entire Donbas without a fight, something they have not been able to do on the battlefield during nearly four years of war, and where the most important Ukrainian defense lines are still located. The United States would recognize the de facto Russian authority behind the current battle lines and promises Moscow an end to sanctions. In the meantime, Ukraine would be forced to renounce NATO membership once and for all, reduce its military and armaments, and call new elections within a hundred days.
This could easily destabilize the country after an unfavorable ceasefire.
Accepting everything Donald Trump deadline set for Thursday Volodymyr Zelensky, and the Ukrainian president appeared before Ukrainian society on Friday with the following statement: It has never been this difficult. The situation in Ukrainian history: they could either lose their dignity (if they sign the unfavorable draft) or American support if they refuse it.
However, there is a lot of uncertainty about all this, starting with who wrote the draft in the first place – it was strongly tailored to Moscow’s taste, and there were several signs that it actually recorded Russian ideas, which were then essentially adopted by Trump’s special envoy and chief negotiator, Steve Witkoff. American communication in this regard is also contradictory. Secretary of State Marco Rubio first removed the points, but after Trump spectacularly stood behind it, he also said that this was the official American draft – which, however, could still change a lot.
The origin of the draft is best known to those who spoke with several participants in the preliminary negotiations. Axios learned new details. Based on this, the framework was formulated between Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, on the way home after the Gaza agreement, on October 22, when it seemed that the talks had completely stalled and Putin announced new sanctions against Russia.
They then had dinner together for the first time at Witkoff's house in Miami with Putin's American envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, who then presented the discussions as essentially putting down the points of the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska. Based on this - at least this is the Russian suggestion, but based on the 28 points, this is far from a far-fetched position - the new draft is a continuation of the Alaska summit, which was then seen as a failure due to Putin's delaying and denial tactics.
This is what terrified not only the Ukrainians but also the Europeans: after it seemed for a few weeks that Trump had been dissuaded from repeating Putin's text and had again taken a tougher stance against the Kremlin, the Witkoffs concluded, based on the new draft, that Moscow had to be largely satisfied, otherwise they would get nowhere - and the impatient Trump talking about it again that Ukrainians are not grateful enough and only have days to decide.
According to Axios sources, Zelensky was briefed on the 28 points by phone. When Umerov (Zelensky's advisor, who was brought in by the Witkoffs at a certain point) was also briefed on the terms in Miami, he asked to be briefed directly on the Ukrainian president, whereupon the points on Ukraine's future were read to him over a loudspeaker. Sources in Washington and Kiev recall differently what exactly was said and how it was received: the Americans felt that the Ukrainians were on board overall and could discuss the points in person with Zelensky in Turkey within days. According to the Ukrainian presidential office, this was far from an official proposal, only initial points were outlined to them.
The meeting in Turkey did not take place, and Washington was furious, saying that the Ukrainians were trying to slander him and were only leaking points that were disadvantageous to them to the press, falsely creating the impression that the draft unilaterally only represented Russian interests - even though it also discussed security guarantees to be given to Ukraine, the restoration of Ukraine, and a quasi-compensation of $100 billion from Russian financial funds frozen in Europe for the shattered Ukraine.
