The peace plan for Ukraine closely resembles the one for the Gaza Strip. Kyiv would be required to cede several of its territories to Russia and scale back its military.
After the peace plan for the Gaza Strip, riddled with uncertainties, it is now Ukraine's turn. US officials have indeed drawn up a draft agreement on the other major issue Trump had promised to address during his election campaign — namely, ending hostilities following the Kremlin's aggression against Kyiv, which began in February 2022.
The plan was developed in conjunction with Russian officials, and it is no coincidence that it is deeply skewed in Moscow's favour. Among other things, Ukraine would be required to cede territories to Russia and scale back its military. This comes even as, in the past few hours, Russia carried out a series of attacks in Ternopil, in the west of the country — among the heaviest in recent times — killing 26 people.
Between the night of 18 and 19 November, Russia carried out a series of extremely heavy attacks on Ternopil, in western Ukraine. 470 drones and 48 missiles were launched at the city, with a provisional toll of 26 dead, including three children, and more than 90 wounded, including at least 18 children. Further bombardments struck the cities of Lviv and Kharkiv, and in addition to civilian targets such as residential buildings, energy infrastructure and port facilities were also hit.
The attack of the past few hours has been one of the heaviest Russian strikes in recent months against Ukraine. And it occurred just as a peace plan for the country, drawn up by officials from the Trump administration, began circulating in the United States — an administration that just days ago saw its flawed peace plan for the Gaza Strip approved by the UN Security Council. The plan was drafted by Donald Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Kremlin adviser Kirill Dmitriev. And it is no coincidence that it is heavily tilted in Russia's favour.
There is no official document yet, but some of the leading international media outlets — including Financial Times, Reuters and Politico — have gained access to some of its key points. The plan is divided into 28 points, a framework reminiscent of the one drawn up for the Gaza Strip. Among the most significant provisions is the recognition of the annexation of Crimea, which took place in 2014, and of other regions seized by Russia, such as Donbas, Donetsk and Luhansk. The document would also refer to a scaling back of the Ukrainian military, a reduction in US military assistance to the country, and the recognition of Russian as an official state language.
The conditions set out in the plan are, broadly speaking, those already put forward in the past by Russia and categorically rejected by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. Negotiations between the two countries have been deadlocked since the summer, despite US president Donald Trump having repeatedly declared that peace is close. The Ukrainian president now finds himself living through one of the most politically difficult moments of the past three years, following the corruption scandal in the energy sector that led to the resignations of the ministers of Justice and Energy. According to analysts, the US administration's aim is to exploit Zelensky's current vulnerability to pressure him into making concessions that might convince Russia to bring its military aggression to an end. The spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, in recent hours denied the existence of any peace agreement, and Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also dismissed reports of any ongoing negotiations. Zelensky is currently in Turkey, where he is conducting bilateral talks with the aim of reviving peace negotiations supported by third-party countries. According to the schedule, he was due to meet Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff — the same person who drafted the 28-point peace plan. But the meeting fell through, a sign that the Ukrainian president has no intention, for the time being, of yielding to pressure from Washington.
