KEY POINTS
- US has signalled that Ukraine should accept a peace framework requiring it to cede territory and some weapons.
- Zelensky urged strong US leadership to end the war as he prepared to meet a visiting US Army delegation.
- Axios reported the plan could see Ukraine surrender parts of eastern territory in exchange for US security guarantees.
- NBC News said Trump approved a 28-point plan to end the war.
KYIV, Ukraine: The United States has signalled to President Volodymyr Zelensky that Ukraine must accept a Washington-drafted framework to end the war with Russia, which includes giving up territory and reducing some weapons, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing two people familiar with the matter.
The sources, who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the talks, told Reuters that Washington wants Kyiv to accept the main elements of the proposal to end the war.
The sources, cited by Reuters, said the framework also includes cuts to the size of Ukraine’s military. The draft plan would mark a major setback for Ukraine as Russian forces push forward in the east. The White House declined to comment, Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, Zelensky faces a corruption scandal that prompted parliament to dismiss the energy and justice ministers on Wednesday.
Washington pushes for a deal
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X that Washington would “continue to develop a list of potential ideas for ending this war based on input from both sides of this conflict”.
He said that “achieving a durable peace will require both sides to agree to difficult but necessary concessions”.
A senior Ukrainian official earlier told Reuters that Kyiv had received “signals” about a set of US proposals discussed with Russia. Ukraine had no role in drafting the proposals, the official, cited by Reuters, said.
Zelensky, who met Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Wednesday, is due to meet US Army officials in Kyiv on Thursday.
Writing on Telegram after the Ankara meeting, Zelensky did not mention the US framework but urged effective American leadership to help end the more than three-and-a-half-year-old war.
“The main thing for stopping the bloodshed and achieving lasting peace is that we work in coordination with all our partners and that American leadership remains effective, strong,” Zelensky wrote.
He said only the United States and US President Donald Trump “have sufficient strength for the war to finally come to an end”.
Zelensky added that Erdogan had proposed different formats for talks and said it was important that Turkiye was ready to host discussions.
Intensifying diplomatic activity
No face-to-face talks have taken place between Ukraine and Russia since a meeting in Istanbul in July.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has long demanded that Kyiv abandon plans to join NATO and withdraw its forces from four Russian-controlled provinces. Ukraine has repeatedly rejected those demands.
Russia currently controls about 19 percent of Ukrainian territory and its forces continue to advance.
Turkiye, a NATO member that maintains ties with both Kyiv and Moscow, hosted the only substantive peace talks early in the war in 2022.
Citing a US official with direct knowledge, Axios reported on Wednesday that the new US plan would see Ukraine give up parts of eastern Ukraine it does not currently control in exchange for a US security guarantee for Kyiv and Europe against future Russian aggression.
A European diplomat told Reuters that the proposals could be an attempt by the Trump administration “to push Kyiv into a corner”, but said any solution must consider Ukraine’s position and that of Europe.
Another European diplomat said the suggestion that Ukraine cut its army “seemed like a Russian demand rather than a serious proposal”.
US delegation in Kyiv
The US embassy in Kyiv said a delegation led by Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll was in the capital on a “fact-finding mission”.
Army Chief of Staff General Randy George is also part of the delegation and will meet Zelensky on Thursday, a person familiar with the visit told Reuters.
Meanwhile, NBC News reported that Trump this week approved a 28-point plan aimed at ending the war.
A senior administration official told NBC that the plan focused on offering “security guarantees” to both sides.
The official said the framework “includes things Ukraine wants and needs to have a durable peace”, but declined to give details as the plan was still under negotiation.
Three US officials told NBC that Kyiv had not yet been presented with the full framework.
According to Axios, US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Putin’s envoy Kirill Dmitriev met in Miami late last month to discuss the outline of a possible deal. The reported 28-point plan is said to be inspired by Trump’s push for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow had not received any official communication from Washington regarding the reported agreements.
The Kremlin has said its position remains unchanged since the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska in August.
