Trump administration officials have proposed a 28-point peace plan designed to end the Russia-Ukraine war — a framework that would require Ukraine to give up its eastern Donbas region and Crimea, and swear off NATO membership, according to a draft shared publicly by a Ukrainian opposition politician and confirmed by a White House official.
The 28-point plan is the most recent working document offered by the administration, reflecting feedback from Russian and Ukrainian officials, the White House official said. It still remains unclear whether both sides will agree to it; diplomatic conversations are ongoing and further changes are being negotiated, according to multiple sources.
While some European governments were aware the U.S. was working on a proposal, they were not involved in drafting it, and as of Thursday had not been briefed on its contents, according to European officials contacted by CBS News.
The plan emerged following recent meetings between the U.S. and officials from both Russia and Ukraine. President Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with a key adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kirill Dmitriev on Oct. 24 in Miami, to develop the plan, CBS News reported Thursday.
The plan was also presented to a senior member of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s administration, Rustem Umerov, a White House official said. Umerov confirmed on X that he was party to the talks on a technical level but said, “I provided no assessments or, even more so, approvals of any points. This is not within my authority and does not correspond to the procedure.”
On Thursday, Zelenskyy met with U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll in Kyiv, and was presented with what he later characterized in a post on X as “points of a plan to end the war — [America’s] vision.” Zelenskyy said he outlined Ukraine’s key principles, and the two sides agreed to continue working on the plan’s provisions. A White House official told CBS News that Driscoll had two hours of meetings with Ukrainian officials, including 45 minutes of direct talks with Zelenskyy, which they described as “productive.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to CBS News: “This plan was crafted to reflect the realities of the situation, after 5 years of a devastating war, to find the best win-win scenario, where both parties gain more than they must give.”
Here’s how the proposed plan would work:
Immediate ceasefire
The plan says a ceasefire would take effect immediately if both sides agree to the deal.
Ukraine expected to give up its eastern regions
As written, the plan would allow Russia to hold onto much of the Ukrainian territory that it currently occupies — and take over some Ukrainian-held areas.
The plan calls for the Ukrainian oblasts of Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk to be recognized by the U.S. and others as de facto Russian territory. Crimea was fully annexed by Russia in 2014, and the Russian military has occupied most of Donetsk and Luhansk — collectively known as the Donbas — since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. Parts of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine were first occupied by Russian-aligned forces in 2014.
Crucially, parts of Donetsk that are still under Ukrainian control would also be ceded to Russia, according to the proposal, but would be deemed a neutral buffer zone with no Russian military presence.
The conflict would be frozen at the existing front lines in two other Ukrainian oblasts — Kherson and Zaporizhia — effectively allowing Russia to hold onto cities like Mariupol and retain a land connection to Crimea.
Those terms could prove to be a sticking point for Ukraine. Zelenskyy has long refused to give up any new territory or recognize Russian control over Crimea, instead calling for the war to be paused on the existing conflict lines.
Ukraine must cap its military size
The proposal also calls for Ukraine to cap the size of its military at 600,000 people.
Zelensky said in January that the country’s military numbered 880,000, according to the Kyiv Independent. Six years earlier, it had roughly 250,000 troops, the Atlantic Council said.
No to NATO membership — but Ukraine can join the EU
Under the plan, Ukraine would be barred from joining NATO.
The country would be expected to modify its constitution to specify that it will not join the 32-nation bloc, a change of course since the country’s NATO aspirations are currently enshrined in its constitution. Ukraine has pursued NATO membership for years, a status that would require the United States and other members to come to the country’s defense if it’s attacked again.
And NATO is expected to agree not to accept Ukraine into the alliance. In 2008, its member states issued a declaration agreeing that Ukraine would become a member of NATO at some point in the future, but it did not set out a timeline.
The plan also calls for NATO to agree not to send troops to Ukraine — possibly scuttling any postwar security deal that involves placing allied troops on Ukrainian soil.
Another point in the plan says Russia will not invade neighboring countries and NATO will not expand any further — a favorable point for Russia, which has long chafed at the alliance’s post-Cold War expansions. Sweden and Finland are the alliance’s newest members, joining in 2024 and 2023, respectively, partly in reaction to the Russia-Ukraine war.
NATO’s longstanding position is that it has an “open door policy,” and decisions to admit new countries are made by its members, not any other countries.
But the plan does specify that Ukraine has a right to join the European Union, and that it would get access to the European market in the meantime. Russia has long been wary of further economic and political integration between Ukraine and Europe.
A U.S. guarantee
The plan lays out a security guarantee if Russia reinvades Ukraine, calling for a “decisive coordinated military response” and the reinstatement of sanctions on Russia. Other benefits from the agreement, including recognition of new Russian territory, would be called off as well. The plan does not specify what type of military response Russia would face.
The guarantee would be terminated if Ukraine invades Russia, or if it launches missiles at Moscow or St. Petersburg.
Ukrainian elections
Ukraine would be expected to hold elections in 100 days. Ukraine had elections scheduled for early 2024, but they were delayed due to the war. Zelenskyy won the presidency in 2019.
Economic plan for Ukraine, Russian sanctions lifted
The plan calls for a recovery plan for Ukraine, whose economy has been devastated by a yearslong Russian invasion and aerial bombardment. That includes reconstruction of Ukrainian cities, a development fund to boost Ukraine’s tech industry and investments in mining and gas.
Some $100 billion in frozen Russian assets would be invested in Ukraine, with the U.S. leading that effort. Europe would contribute an additional $100 billion.
The plan also calls for negotiations on lifting the hefty sanctions that Russia has faced since the invasion began, choking it off from much of the global economy. The sanctions would be lifted in stages, according to the framework. And frozen Russian assets beyond $100 billion would be plowed into a joint U.S.-Russia investment fund.
The overall plan would be monitored and enforced by a Peace Council, to be chaired by President Trump.
Other points in the plan include a Russia-NATO security dialogue, a joint U.S.-Russia security working group and a non-aggression pact between Russia, Ukraine and Europe. It would also extend U.S.-Russia arms control treaties, require Ukraine to be a non-nuclear state and bar Russia from blocking Ukraine from using the key Dnipro river for commercial purposes.
All civilian detainees taken during the war would be returned, including children, and both sides in the conflict would be granted amnesty for their conduct during the war. And both countries would be expected to adopt educational programs to discourage racial prejudice.
The plan also calls for a return of Russia to the Group of Eight, a grouping of powerful countries that kicked Russia out after its 2014 annexation of Crimea.
Leavitt said in her statement: “As the Trump Administration has clearly said, any deal must provide full security guarantees and deterrence for Ukraine, Europe, and Russia to ensure the end of the war, in addition to financial opportunities for Ukraine to rebuild, and for Russia to rejoin the global economy, to benefit the people in both countries.”