WSJ reconstructs how Trump's team drafted "peace plan" for Ukraine with Russian involvement

The American media outlet the Wall Street Journal has described, in a new report, a reconstruction of the events that led to the US administration's emergence of a 28-point plan for a peaceful settlement of Russia's war against Ukraine.

Source: WSJ, as cited by European Pravda

Details: According to the Wall Street Journal, in October US President Donald Trump instructed his national security team to draw up a plan to end the war in Ukraine, modelled on the plan for Gaza.

Sources say that during a flight from the Middle East, after the agreement between Israel and Hamas had been reached, Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner began drafting the first version of what eventually became a 28-point plan.

While preparing their draft, Witkoff and Kushner relied on information from a Kremlin insider who held secret meetings with aides in Miami, anonymous US officials said.

The Russian input came from Kirill Dmitriev, a Kremlin representative with close ties to Vladimir Putin and a long-standing personal relationship with Kushner.

According to the WSJ sources, Dmitriev was brought to Miami on the weekend before Halloween for three days of intensive dinner discussions and lengthy talks at Witkoff's home.

A senior Ukrainian official also arranged at least two phone calls with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

However, when the plan leaked to the press last week, it became clear that its terms favoured the Kremlin. This shocked European governments and Kyiv's supporters in Congress, triggering several days of transatlantic crisis for the Trump administration.

US officials said the plan reflected a good-faith attempt by Witkoff and Kushner to secure the support of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, who had repeatedly rejected the White House's efforts to halt the fighting in Ukraine.

In particular, Dmitriev insisted on a demand that Ukraine must not join NATO, on the complete withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Donbas, and on reducing the size of Ukraine's armed forces.

Citing Donald Trump's desire to expand economic ties between the United States and Russia, Dmitriev proposed signing economic agreements in the fields of artificial intelligence, energy and many others.

Witkoff, having spoken with American and foreign officials and having read intelligence assessments, concluded that Ukraine was in a weaker military position, officials say.

According to the sources, Witkoff and Kushner then invited Rustem Umierov, National Security and Defence Council Secretary of Ukraine, to Miami to show him the plan.

Sources say he told them plainly that the deal would favour Russia more than Ukraine. He recommended that they call Zelenskyy to brief him.

On 16 November, Kushner and Witkoff presented the 28-point plan to the Ukrainian president. Zelenskyy thanked them – and Trump – for their efforts to reach a peace agreement. He promised to return to them with his thoughts, saying the plan still required further work.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio received a copy of the plan on 18 November, a source said. Rubio had been aware of Witkoff and Kushner's initiative but, according to sources, had not known the full extent of what they had prepared until then.

After the plan's details were made public, the White House was suddenly confronted with a crisis over its one-sided terms. Rubio was fielding calls from angry European officials and lawmakers, the sources noted.

Lawmakers told reporters at a conference that Rubio had said the initial draft had been influenced by a Russian, without naming Dmitriev.

Rubio denied the lawmakers' claim: "The peace proposal was authored by the US. It is based on input from the Russian side. But it is also based on previous and ongoing input from Ukraine."

Rubio, Witkoff and Kushner quickly arranged a meeting with Ukrainian and European officials in Geneva and agreed to amend the plan to make it more acceptable to Kyiv. Officials say the final peace plan will ensure that Ukraine's core objectives are met.

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