According to Western media reports, the United States and Russia are allegedly holding private talks on ending the war without Ukraine’s participation. The press refers to the so-called 28-point “Vitkoff plan”, which reportedly contains significant concessions to Russia. However, these rumors have not been confirmed by Washington, Moscow, or Kyiv. At present, all that is known is that Zelenskyy has officially received a draft plan from the US.
Plan Content
The proposal is said to be unfinished, but its main points could include:
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Ukraine’s transfer of the entire Luhansk and Donetsk regions to Russia, including territories currently controlled by Ukraine;
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recognition of Crimea and other occupied territories as Russian;
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Ukraine’s renunciation of NATO membership for several years;
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a ban on any international peacekeeping contingent in Ukraine — effectively blocking France’s and Britain’s plans to oversee a potential ceasefire;
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recognition of the Russian language at the state level and allowing the Moscow Patriarchate to be legalized again;
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halving the size of the Ukrainian Armed Forces;
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a reduction in U.S. military assistance and Ukraine’s refusal to accept certain types of long-range weapons.
These demands are not new — Russia has been advancing them since 2022.
Notably, the first reports about the plan emerged while President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in Turkey, meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Among other topics, they discussed steps within the “coalition of the willing,” which contradicts the supposed restrictions on foreign contingents. Moreover, on November 18, Ukraine used ATACMS long-range missiles on Russian territory.
Despite this, ambivalence persists: new sanctions against Russia are being discussed, yet the possibility of such a plan remains concerning.
Putin and US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff during a meeting in Moscow, Russia, on April 25, 2025 / REUTERS, Sputnik, Kristina Kormilitsyna, Pool
Partners’ Response
It is clear that a peace deal based on such humiliating concessions for Ukraine would undermine the security of the entire continent. Destabilizing the territory controlled by Kyiv would lead to the total loss of Ukrainian sovereignty and turn the country into a staging ground for Russia’s future wars. Russia has already forcibly mobilized 46,327 Ukrainians from the temporarily occupied territories. No doubts rat it will continue using Ukrainians as a resource against EU states in the future.
Amid these developments, a spokesperson for the British government stated that the UK will continue providing military support and equipment, stressing that Russia could stop its aggression immediately by withdrawing its troops.
The EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, commented on the alleged U.S. plan, saying that for any proposal to work, it must be supported by both Ukrainians and Europeans. She sees no indication that Russia is ready for constructive action.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pledged to supply Ukraine with long-range weapons. Poland will allocate funding for the PURL initiative by the end of the year.
Conclusion
Russia continues to impose its own conditions, exploiting the U.S. administration’s desire for a quick, but unsustainable end to the war for the sake of political optics. Political turbulence in Ukraine amid corruption scandals has created a moment of vulnerability that is being used to promote anti-Ukrainian agenda.
Such discussions about Ukrainian concessions arise periodically, but the essence remains unchanged: any “peace” imposed on Ukraine under Russian terms would endanger not only Ukraine but the entire European security architecture.
