Trump plan to end Ukraine war cedes Donbas to Russia

Russia would make sweeping territorial gains and Ukraine would get an as-yet-undefined U.S. security guarantee under the Trump administration’s 28-point proposal to end the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II.

Under the agreement — which has not yet drawn a formal response from either side — Ukraine would face limits on the size of its military in addition to giving up the Donbas region that has been the focus of much of the fighting since the war began, according to details of the proposal obtained Thursday by POLITICO.

The proposal, which would fulfill President Donald Trump’s campaign pledge to end the war, is the most comprehensive U.S. overture to both sides and would grant major concessions to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not publicly commented on the plan, details of which were first reported by Axios, but a U.S. official, granted anonymity to discuss the peace negotiations, said the proposal came together after discussions with Rustem Umerov, the country’s minister of defense.

Zelenskyy’s office expressed willingness to negotiate Thursday without committing to any specific proposal.

“Ukraine has sought peace, and we support all substantive proposals capable of bringing genuine peace closer. Since the beginning of this year, Ukraine has supported President Trump’s proposals aimed at ending the bloodshed,” the office said on X. “We are ready now, as before, to work constructively with the American side, as well as with our partners in Europe and around the world so that the outcome is peace.”

The plan would achieve a long-standing Putin aim by granting the Donbas to Russia. Ukrainian forces would have to leave the part of Donetsk oblast they currently occupy, and this zone would become a demilitarized buffer zone that would be recognized as a part of Russia, according to plan. Russian troops would not be allowed to enter the zone. The battle lines around Kherson and Zaporizhzhia would remain frozen, expanding Russian borders.

It also requires Ukraine to hold elections within 100 days of the signing of the agreement.

The proposal also calls for roughly $100 billion in frozen Russian assets to be used to help rebuild Ukraine. The U.S. will receive 50 percent of the profits from the effort, under the plan, though it’s unclear exactly what would generate profits. Europe, the plan states, would kick in another $100 billion, though it is unclear if this refers to the EU or some other international body.

No European organization has publicly endorsed the plan, which would also mandate the return of all captured civilians, including thousands of children seized by Russia from parts of Ukraine occupied by its forces.

The plan also allows Ukraine to negotiate for EU membership, though Hungary has long opposed its joining the alliance.

The U.S. would provide Ukraine with a security guarantee, pledging that if Russia again attacked, there would be a “decisive, coordinated military response” and that all the border and territory agreements in the plan would be voided. But the plan did not specify what a coordinated military response might entail.

In a statement, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the proposal.

“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,” Leavitt said. “This plan was crafted to reflect the realities of the situation, after years of a devastating war, to find the best win-win scenario, where both parties gain more than they must give.”