This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
Ukrainian authorities met with top Pentagon officials amid reports that Moscow and Washington have drawn up a peace plan — without consulting Kyiv or Brussels — calling for Ukraine to make major concessions.
The terms of the proposed deal, which appear to track with the hard-line demands Russia has made going back to the start of its all-out invasion in 2022, were expected to dominate the November 20 talks in Kyiv, which include visiting Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and several top US military officers.
Ahead of the meetings that will include President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said the issue of a bilateral reconstruction fund — which Kyiv and Washington agreed to in April — was on the agenda.
The exact terms of the US-drafted proposal were unclear, though reports by The Financial Times, Reuters, and Axios said it called for Kyiv giving up some of its territory and weaponry, cutting the size of its armed forces, and accepting a rollback of US military assistance that has been essential to its fight against Russian forces.
In addition, no foreign troops would be allowed on Ukrainian soil and Kyiv would no longer receive long-range weaponry.
Ukrainian officials have made no public response to the reported deal. A Ukrainian official with direct knowledge of the proposal confirmed its contents but had no further comment.
Zelenskyy has refused previous demands from Moscow that Ukraine cede territory or downgrade its armed forces, saying it would only weaken Ukraine and leave it vulnerable to a future new invasion.
Analysts said it is unlikely the 28-point proposal will find support in Kyiv.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the proposed plans as a “list of potential ideas for ending the war,” suggesting there might be some room for negotiations.
“I hope the reporting in this story is not accurate, because what is outlined here is a really bad deal for Ukrainian, European, and American national interests,” Michael McFaul, a former US ambassador to Russia, said in a post to X. “Frankly, I’m shocked.”
Boris Bondarev, a former Russian diplomat who resigned in protest of the Ukraine invasion questioned whether the Kremlin is actually willing to negotiate, given the terms of the reported deal.
“Moscow has been ready to negotiate since the first day of the war. They say so constantly, every day. There is nothing new about that. But what kind of negotiations are they ready to engage in?” Bondarev asked. “Negotiations like these: discussing Ukraine’s surrender.”
“What is there to talk about when you are offered the same thing that Putin has been saying since the beginning of the war: the demilitarization of Ukraine, denazification, and so on and so forth?” he added in an interview with Current Time.
Shortly after news of the proposals circulated, Zelenskyy, who was visiting Ankara, posted a message to Telegram where he thanked Turkey’s president for hosting the latest talks.
He also praised the “decisive steps and leadership of President Trump [and] every strong and fair proposal to end this war. And only President Trump and the United States of America have enough strength for the war to finally end.”
The proposals potentially put Zelenskyy in a difficult position.
On the battlefield, Ukrainian forces are struggling to hold back a bigger, better-equipped Russian Army, even as Moscow’s forces suffer extraordinary casualties.
Russia is closing in on the key city of Pokrovsk as part of Putin’s stated goal to control all of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.
Russia is also battering Ukraine’s cities and its energy infrastructure for yet another winter, seeking to demoralize already exhausted Ukrainians.
Dan Fried, a former US diplomat and architect of US sanctions after Russia seized Crimea in 2014, said the reported deal seemed like “a terrible plan.”
“Given past patterns, it could be a ploy without legs,” he said in post to X. “We’ll know more soon. The administration’s Ukraine policy moves are seldom as bad as one fears but not as good as one hopes.”
Reports of the proposal came less than 24 hours after a Russian cruise missile strike hit two apartment buildings in the western city of Ternopil, killing at least 26 people and wounded dozens. Rescuers continued to search the rubble of the buildings for survivors, and Zelenskyy said at least 22 people were still missing.
At home, Zelenskyy has been politically weakened by a major corruption scandal that has touched on some of his Cabinet ministers and longtime business partners.
Ukrainian lawmakers have called for Zelenskyy to sack his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak.
The corruption investigation concerns allegations that funds earmarked for building defenses to protect Ukraine’s vulnerable energy infrastructure from Russian air attacks were siphoned off in the form of kickbacks to political insiders.