Ukraine makes significant changes to US ‘peace plan’, sources say | Ukraine

Ukraine has dramatically changed the United States’ “peace plan” to end the conflict, eliminating some of Russia’s maximalist demands, people familiar with the talks said, as European leaders warned Monday that no deal could be reached quickly.

Sources stated that Volodymyr Zelenskyy may meet with Donald Trump at the White House this week, amid intense phone calls between Kiev and Washington. Ukraine is pressing for Europe to join the talks.

The original 28-point US-Russia plan was drawn up last month by Vladimir Putin’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev and Trump’s representative Steve Witkoff. It calls on Ukraine to withdraw from cities it controls in the eastern Donbas region, limit the size of its army and not join NATO.

The plan was heavily revised during negotiations in Switzerland on Sunday, led by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Zelenskyy’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak. It now contains only 19 points. Kyiv and its European partners say the current frontline should be the starting point for regional discussions.

They say that territory seized militarily by Russia cannot be recognized and that Kiev must make its own decisions about whether to join the EU and NATO; The Kremlin wants to veto this or impose conditions. Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukraine’s first deputy foreign minister, told the Financial Times that such issues were “bracketed” for Trump and Zelenskyy to decide later.

On Monday, Zelenskyy said: “After Geneva, there are now fewer points, it is no longer 28, and many of the right elements have been included in this framework.” He added that sensitive issues would be discussed with Trump.

Rubio described Sunday’s talks as “very, very positive.” Writing on Truth Social on Monday, Trump also struck a positive tone, having previously accused Ukraine’s leadership of “zero gratitude.”

“Is it really possible to make major progress in the Peace Talks between Russia and Ukraine? Don’t believe it until you see it, but something good might be happening. GOD BLESS AMERICA!” he wrote.

The Ukrainian delegation briefed Zelenskyy about the talks after returning to Kiev from Geneva on Monday. They said the latest version of the plan was more realistic. Separately, Zelenskyy met with US vice president JD Vance and urged him to include European countries in the process. Vance reportedly agreed.

But in the clearest sign that the original 28-point plan, seen as favorable to Moscow, still does not meet some of the Kremlin’s key demands, Putin’s top foreign policy adviser said on Monday that Moscow would seek to “rework” parts of the plan.

“We were given a kind of draft that will require further reworking,” Yuri Ushakov said, adding that “many provisions” of the plan appear acceptable to Russia, but others “will require the most detailed discussions and review between the parties.”

Underlining the Kremlin’s strict stance, Ushakov said Moscow would reject Europe’s counter-offer starting from the weekend. The proposal changes the meaning and importance of key points regarding NATO membership and territory, according to a copy seen by Reuters.

“The European plan, at first glance, is completely unconstructive and does not work for us,” he said.

Ukraine and Russia tallied the death toll on Tuesday morning after deadly attacks overnight, as negotiators scrambled to hammer out a framework.

The acting governor of Russia’s Rostov region said that at least three people died in Ukraine’s attacks. Authorities in Kiev said at least one person was killed and seven others were injured in the capital after missiles and drones targeted the country’s energy sector.

Britain and the EU were left blindsided when the original plan was leaked to US media last week. Army secretary Dan Driscoll, Vance’s friend and college classmate, was sent to Kiev with a military delegation to brief Zelenskyy on its contents.

European governments have since attempted to revise the document, which appears to have been originally written in Russian. EU leaders attending the EU-Africa summit in Angola welcomed some progress but said there was still much work to be done and insisted that Europe must participate fully and Russia must be present for negotiations to progress substantially.

Following talks on the sidelines of the summit, European Council President António Costa praised a “new momentum”, saying that although problems remain, “the trend is positive”.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also said the “refined peace framework” agreed in Switzerland was a “solid basis for moving forward” but added: “There remains work to be done.”

Von der Leyen said that the fundamental principles that the EU will always insist on are that “Ukraine’s territory and sovereignty must be respected; as a sovereign country, only Ukraine can make decisions regarding its armed forces.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said both Europe and Russia should be fully involved. While Merz said, “The next step should be this: Russia should come to the table,” he said that Europeans should also be able to consent to “issues that affect Europe’s interests and sovereignty.”

Stating that the negotiations will be a “long-term process”, Merz said that he does not expect any progress this week. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the talks were sensitive because “no one wants to stop the Americans and President Trump from having the United States with us in this process.”

Tusk also emphasized that any peace agreement should “strengthen, not weaken, our security” and “should not favor the aggressor.” Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson said Russia “must be forced to come to the negotiating table” to see that “aggression never works”.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said there was more work to be done but progress was being made. He said a group of countries supporting Ukraine (a coalition of the willing) would discuss the issue in a video call on Tuesday.

The chairmen of parliamentary foreign relations committees of 20 European countries, including France, Ireland, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom, issued a rare joint statement saying that a just and lasting peace cannot be achieved by “submitting to the aggressor” and that it must be “based on international law and fully respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty.”

On Monday, The White House has pushed back against criticism, including from within the Republican party, that Trump supports Russia.

“The idea that the United States is not dealing equally with both sides to end this war is a complete misconception,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

Zelenskyy is at his most vulnerable since the start of the war, following a corruption scandal that led to the sacking of two of his ministers as Russia made gains on the battlefield.