Even peace doesn’t come without controversy if Donald Trump is behind the plan. In his latest effort to bring the Russia-Ukraine war to an end, the U.S. president has presented a 28-point plan. But if you think that helps Ukraine, think again.
Following the U.S.-Russia meeting in Alaska in August 2025, Trump began negotiations to end the conflict in Ukraine. Soon, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev in Miami (via NBC). Over three days from Oct. 24 to 26, they discussed a draft version of the 28-point plan. And almost a month later, Axios published a verified draft of the plan.
The Trump-approved and Putin-backed plan is nothing but a losing deal for Ukraine. The plan forces Ukraine to let go of much of its territory under Russian occupation, including Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk. It puts a cap of 600,000 on its military and bans the country from pursuing NATO membership. If signed, Ukraine will also have to hold elections within 100 days. (via BBC)
U.S. senators allege State Sec. Rubio called Trump’s peace plan a “Russian wish-list”
If anything, Trump’s “peace” plan reads more like a surrender deal. In fact, Senator Angus King alleged that the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio labeled the plan a “wish list of the Russians.” He said that it “was not the administration’s plan.” According to Republican Senator Mike Rounds, too, Rubio told a bipartisan U.S. delegation that the plan is a Russian proposal.
Speaking at the Halifax International Security Forum in Canada, Rounds alleged that the U.S. is only an intermediary, and the plan was only delivered to U.S. representatives by Russia. He bluntly claimed that the plan wasn’t drafted in the U.S. or by U.S. officials.
“This administration was not responsible for this release in its current form. They want to utilize it as a starting point. It looked more like it was written in Russian to begin with.”
Washington denies the senators’ allegations
Tommy Pigott, a State Department spokesperson, insisted on Nov. 22 that the 28-point plan is official U.S. policy. He dismissed the claims that the proposal under discussion is a Russian “wish list” as “blatantly false.” (via CNBC) Instead, Pigott insists that the plan was developed after talks between Sec. Rubio and Trump’s envoy Witkoff.
Soon, Sec. Rubio took to his X and declared that “the peace proposal was authored by the U.S.” He wrote, “It is based on input from the Russian side. But it is also based on previous and ongoing input from Ukraine.” But if a bipartisan U.S. delegation believes that the plan only “rewards aggression,” it raises questions about whether Rubio is speaking under pressure or truly stands on his words.
“There’s no ethical, legal, moral, political justification for Russia claiming eastern Ukraine,” Sen. King said. Upon examining the terms of the plan, it doesn’t seem impossible that Russia might’ve been the one who wrote it. Then it makes sense that Putin lauded the plan, saying it “could form the basis of a final peace settlement.”
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