The US President Donald Trump wants Ukraine and Russia to sign a peace deal by Christmas. His special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner told Zelensky in a phone call on December 6 that he had just a few days to decide whether to accept the US plan, which would require Russia to cede territory.
This is reported by the Financial Times, citing sources.
It is unlikely that Zelensky will accept this “peace plan”. Ukraine and its European partners are now preparing to present their own, revised version — it should exclude any agreements on the transfer of territories.
Today, December 9, at a press conference, Zelensky said that Ukrainian and European national security advisers are still working on this version. In particular, they are finalizing the issues of Ukraineʼs future membership in the EU and the issue of frozen Russian assets. The document can be handed over to the Americans tomorrow.
Peace plan for Ukraine
The first version of the peace plan proposed by the United States consisted of 28 points. It provided for the recognition of Crimea, as well as the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, as de facto Russian.
After a series of negotiations between Ukraine, the United States, and European partners in Geneva starting on November 23, the American plan was reduced from 28 points to 19, taking into account the Ukrainian position.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the document retained the points on the need to release civilians and prisoners of war according to the formula "all for all" and to return Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.
Deputy Foreign Minister Serhiy Kyslytsia, who was part of the delegation at the negotiations, said that the clause on amnesty for potential war criminals was reworked to take into account "the complaints of those who suffered in the war".
The US also agreed not to limit the size of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the issue of territories was put on hold — they should be discussed by Presidents Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump.
The next meeting of the American and Ukrainian delegations took place on November 30 in Florida. The United States was represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trumpʼs special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Trumpʼs son-in-law Jared Kushner.
After the meeting, Serhiy Kyslytsia wrote that the start of the negotiations in Florida was "good", and added that "the warm atmosphere promotes progress".
Later, on December 2, Witkoff and Kushner traveled to Moscow for talks with the Russian side on a peace plan for Ukraine. No concrete decisions were made at the talks, although Russia called the meeting “successful”.
NBC, citing a Russian source, reported that the Kremlin will not make concessions on three issues: the territories of the Donetsk region, limitations on the size of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and international recognition of the territories seized by Russia. But Russia is ready to be flexible on the issue of Russian assets frozen in the EU.
After that, on December 6, Zelensky held a final two-hour phone call with Trump representatives Witkoff and Kushner. According to Axios sources, the most difficult topics during the conversation were the territories and US security guarantees for Ukraine.
At press conferences on December 8 and 9, Zelensky commented on the state of the “peace plan”. He reported that the American “peace plan” had been reduced from 28 to 20 points — “blatantly unpro-Ukrainian points” had disappeared. The issues of territories where no compromise was found, the question of where European funds should be attracted, and the question of security guarantees remain.
There are currently three documents on peace. A framework document with 20 points — it is constantly changing. The second document is on security guarantees, between Ukraine and the US and Ukraine and the Europeans. The third document concerns the restoration after the ceasefire.
The Americans said that “this time they want Ukraine to have realistic security guarantees voted by Congress,” such as Article 5 of the NATO charter. And also for Ukraine to have weapons, air defense, and if necessary, sanctions [against Russia].
The president believes that in the coming days, Ukraine will understand the details of the security guarantees from the US. They are currently formulated in a 20-point plan, analogous to Article 5 of the NATO charter.
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