President Trump has repeatedly vowed to end the war in Ukraine. However, neither Russia nor Ukraine appears willing to accept the leaked terms of Trump’s proposed peace plan. Regardless of the outcome of his coming talks with Putin and Zelensky, Trump is in a strong position to advance American interests.
According to a peace plan leaked by the Ukrainian outlet Strana, President Trump will ask Ukraine to renounce its aspiration to join NATO, withdraw from pre-war Russian territory in the Kursk pocket and recognize Russian sovereignty over annexed territories. In exchange, Ukraine will continue receiving U.S. military support and join the European Union by 2030, while Russia will receive limited sanctions relief if it complies with the final settlement.
Although these details remain unconfirmed, they resemble the contours of Trump’s original peace plan, which was devised by former national security adviser Keith Kellogg, the man that Trump has tapped to be his administration’s peace envoy for the war in Ukraine. At the moment, the Strana leaks and Kellogg’s policy recommendations represent the most likely starting point for U.S.-mediated negotiations.
Both plans seek to entice Russia with concessions that the Biden administration was unwilling to make and that fly in the face of Ukrainian President Zelensky’s “victory plan.” Zelensky has vowed to retake lost territories, and Russia’s invasion has only emboldened his desire to see Ukraine in NATO.
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