U.S., Russia draft a peace plan with concessions by Ukraine

The U.S. and Russia have drawn up a plan aimed at ending the war in Ukraine that calls for major concessions from Kyiv, according to a person familiar with the matter, including granting some demands the Kremlin has made repeatedly since the full-scale invasion began nearly four years ago.

- By Illia Novikov AND AAMER MADHANI

KENA BETANCUR AFP via Getty Images

VASILY NEBENZYA of Russia addresses a U.N. Security Council meeting on Ukraine on Thursday.

It was not clear what, if any, concessions the proposal asks of Russia. The same person confirmed that promises from Moscow of no further attacks are part of the framework.

As reports of the plan emerged, blindsided European diplomats insisted they and Ukraine must be consulted.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff have been quietly working on the plan for a month, receiving input from both Ukrainians and Russians on terms that are acceptable to each side, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Thursday.

She declined to comment on details of the emerging proposal, but she said President Trump has been briefed on it and supports it.

“It is a good plan for both Russia and Ukraine, and we believe it should be acceptable to both sides. And we are working hard to get it done,” Leavitt said.

The latest Trump administration push for peace has piled more pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is marshaling his country’s defenses against Russia's bigger army, visiting European leaders to ensure they continue their support for Ukraine and navigating a major corruption scandal that has caused public outrage.

U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll was in Kyiv on Thursday to give anew push to peace efforts and assess the reality on the ground in Ukraine. Leavitt said that Driscoll met with Zelensky and discussed the plan.

Zelensky’s office said in a statement that the Ukrainian president expected to talk to Trump in coming days about diplomatic opportunities and what was needed for peace.