Ukrainian officials have vehemently rejected a proposed US-Russian peace plan, describing the initiative as "absurd" and tantamount to national capitulation. The strongly-worded dismissal comes as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets with a high-ranking US army delegation in Kyiv.
Controversial Peace Proposal Details
The sweeping 28-point plan, reportedly drafted by Russian official Kirill Dmitriev and Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, closely mirrors demands Moscow made following its full-scale invasion in early 2022. Ukrainian authorities were not consulted about the proposal, with one European diplomat claiming they only learned of it through media reports.
According to the leaked details, the plan would require Ukraine to surrender the northern part of the Donbas region currently under its control and reduce its army size by half. Ukraine would also be forced to relinquish its long-range weapons used to strike military targets inside Russia.
Additional conditions include formal status for the Russian language and Russian Orthodox Church - long-standing Kremlin demands - and a ban on foreign troops stationed on Ukrainian soil, effectively ruling out proposed peacekeeping forces from the UK and France.
Ukrainian and International Reaction
Oleksandr Merezhko, chair of Ukraine's foreign policy parliamentary committee, dismissed the proposal as a "provocation" designed to create division among Kyiv's allies. "There are currently no signs that the Kremlin is ready for serious negotiations," Merezhko stated, adding that Putin is attempting to "stall for time and avoid US sanctions."
Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukraine's first deputy foreign minister, characterised the initiative as unrealistic and suggested it represented a classic Soviet-style information operation aimed at influencing public opinion and sowing panic.
European leaders meeting in Brussels expressed concern about being excluded from the peace process. Poland's foreign minister Radosław Sikorski emphasised that "Europe is the main supporter of Ukraine and it's, of course, Europe's security that's at stake. So we expect to be consulted."
The EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas noted that the proposal doesn't require Russia to make any concessions, stating: "We have to understand that in this war, there is one aggressor and one victim."
Political Context and Meetings
The peace proposal emerges during a challenging period for President Zelenskyy, who faces the most significant political scandal of his presidency. His former business partner Timur Mindich and several government ministers stand accused of involvement in a large-scale bribery scheme.
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy met with US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, whom Trump recently named as a "special representative." Driscoll's fact-finding mission includes examining the war situation and Ukrainian drone production, though it remains unclear whether the US peace plan featured in their discussions.
The diplomatic developments occur against a backdrop of intensified Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, which have plunged much of the country into darkness. Recent bombing in western cities including Ternopil killed 26 people, among them three children.
Western diplomats suggest the timing of the peace proposal exploits Ukraine's domestic political difficulties, with one noting: "It seems Dmitriev has spun this plan at a time when Zelenskyy is weak. The Russians are good at exploiting things."
