President Donald Trump’s administration is pushing Ukraine to accept a sweeping peace deal that would force Kyiv to surrender additional territory to Russia, cap the size of its army, and permanently abandon NATO membership, according to a confidential 28-point proposal obtained by Axios and verified by U.S. and Ukrainian officials.

The plan—drafted largely by Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff with input from Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner—marks the most aggressive U.S. effort yet to pressure Ukraine into a settlement on Washington’s accelerated timeline. Despite provisions that mirror longstanding Russian demands, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is not dismissing the proposal.

The document calls for official recognition of Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk as Russian territory by Ukraine, Europe and the United States. It also freezes control of parts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia along existing battle lines—amounting to de facto recognition of Russian gains elsewhere. Ukrainian forces would be required to withdraw from areas of Donetsk that they currently control, which would be turned into a demilitarized buffer zone internationally recognized as belonging to Russia.

The plan goes significantly further than any peace framework previously considered by Kyiv or Western partners. It demands Ukraine rewrite its constitution to guarantee it will never join NATO, and obligates NATO itself to codify that Ukraine will never be admitted. Ukraine’s military would be capped at 600,000 troops—substantially smaller than its current force fighting Russia’s invasion.

Even European proposals to station small postwar training units in Ukraine would be scrapped.

Axios confirmed that Witkoff consulted with Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev while drafting the plan. Dmitriev praised the proposal, saying Russia feels “its position is really being heard” for the first time in negotiations with the United States.

Although President Vladimir Putin has not publicly endorsed the plan, key provisions mirror demands Russia has repeated since 2014: recognition of territorial gains, NATO rollback, strict limits on Ukraine’s military, and amnesty for all Russian personnel. The proposal even grants full amnesty for all wartime actions by “all parties”—a provision that would block war-crimes prosecutions.

The White House is pushing Ukraine to respond quickly. According to Ukrainian officials, U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll personally delivered the written plan to Zelensky in Kyiv on Thursday. Afterward, Zelensky said he was prepared to discuss it with Trump and his team.

Trump has personally endorsed the document, which the administration describes as a “live” framework that could still change. U.S. officials insist the plan provides Ukraine with “real security guarantees,” though the text offers little detail about how the U.S. would respond if Russia violates the agreement. It only states that further sanctions would return and there would be a “decisive coordinated military response”—without specifying who would participate or how.

The supposed guarantee also includes penalties against Ukraine, including losing U.S. protection if Kyiv strikes Moscow or St. Petersburg “without cause.”

Under the proposal, the U.S. would lift sanctions on Russia in stages; Russia would be reintegrated into global markets, Russia would be invited back into the G8; and Moscow and Washington would form a joint investment initiative involving AI, Arctic mining, natural resources and rare earth minerals.

Meanwhile, $100 billion in frozen Russian assets would be redirected to reconstruction in Ukraine, with the U.S. taking 50% of profits from the investment. Europe would match the funding, and further frozen Russian assets would be channeled into a separate U.S.–Russian investment vehicle.

The energy and infrastructure portions of the plan would give the U.S. a long-term role in operating Ukraine’s gas pipelines and storage systems, while the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant would restart under international supervision with electricity split equally between Russia and Ukraine.

The proposal demands Ukraine hold elections within 100 days of signing a deal, despite massive displacement, occupied territory and an ongoing war. The agreement would also prohibit future legal claims for damages—including genocide and war-crimes complaints—by any party.

Perhaps the most unusual element: Trump himself would chair a global “Peace Council” tasked with enforcing the deal. Violators would face sanctions determined by the council.

Zelensky has repeatedly vowed that Ukraine’s territorial and security sovereignty are non-negotiable. Yet the collapsing front lines, growing Russian gains, fatigue among Western governments, and U.S. pressure have placed him in a narrow corner. He confirmed he will provide comments on how to make the agreement “meaningful”—leaving open the possibility that Ukraine may negotiate from a position of weakness.

The plan’s release signals the most dramatic U.S. intervention in the conflict since the invasion began—and potentially the beginning of a settlement that prioritizes American-Russian détente over Ukrainian sovereignty.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)