Trump is working on a settlement plan for Ukraine and Russia - Axios

The administration of US President Donald Trump is secretly developing a new plan to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, while consulting with Moscow. Sources among US and Russian officials told Axios.

According to the publication, it is a 28-point plan inspired by Trump's success in reaching an agreement between Israel and Palestine. The work on the document is headed by Trump's special envoy Steve Whitkoff, who discussed the plan with Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev, according to Axios. It is still unclear how Kiev and Ukraine's European allies will feel about the initiative, the publication said.

According to Axios sources, the plan is structured around four areas: achieving peace in Ukraine, guaranteeing security to it, security in Europe as a whole, and future US relations with Russia and Ukraine. However, it is still unclear how the plan responds to key issues, such as control over territories in eastern Ukraine, Axios wrote. Russian forces continue to make slow advances but actually hold less territory than the Kremlin is demanding, he added.

The Wall Street Journal and Politico reported that the Trump administration has sent a high-level delegation to Ukraine headed by Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll. Politico writes that he is expected to hold talks with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, Ukrainian officials, military and defense industry representatives, and then - if possible - meet with the Russian side as well. The Kremlin, however, said there are no such arrangements, Politico noted. According to the WSJ, the purpose of the mission is to try to restart peace talks on Trump's behalf.

According to Financial Times sources, the plan envisages the transfer of the remaining part of Donbass to Russia, including the territories currently under Kiev's control. This was also confirmed by an unnamed US official quoted by Axios. The proposals also include Ukraine giving up key categories of weapons and a commitment to halve the size of its army. Foreign troops would not be allowed on Ukrainian territory, Ukraine would no longer receive Western long-range weapons, and the United States would cut off military aid, the FT quoted sources as saying.

In addition, Ukraine is expected to recognize Russian as an official state language and grant formal status to the local branch of the Russian Orthodox Church.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor