The new 20-point peace plan, which Ukraine presented as a counter-proposal to the US, confirms Ukraine's refusal to cede control of Donbas. This was confirmed to The New York Times by five former and current Western officials familiar with the plan's contents.
The plan proposed by Kiev stipulates that Ukraine must retain control of the remaining territories of the Ukrainian armed forces in the east. Under US President Donald Trump's peace plan, Kiev was obliged to cede all of Donbas, according to two senior European officials and a former US official.
Kiev has also removed from the plan the US position on Ukraine's refusal to join NATO, according to a source of the publication.
Kiev presented its proposals in Washington for consideration on the evening of December 10. This was a response to the peace plan previously proposed by the United States. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky actively discussed the new plan during meetings with European leaders in London, Brussels and Rome, the newspaper wrote. A new meeting on the peace plan is scheduled for December 15. The Wall Street Journal reported that the US President's envoy Steve Witkoff also plans to hold talks with European leaders and Zelensky in Berlin.
Sources in Bild reported that the Trump administration continues to exert strong pressure on Zelensky and pressure him to make concessions as part of the peace agreement. The Republican wants to see results from the negotiations by Christmas, the publication claims.
Moscow may not be satisfied with all the redacted points in the peace plan for Ukraine that it will receive, said the day before, Russian President's adviser Yuri Ushakov. He specified that the Russian side has not yet seen the updated version of the plan. However, active contacts between Moscow and Washington will resume "sooner or later," the aide noted.
Trump confirmed that Washington had "thrown out some things" from the plan to settle the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. According to him, the document "has four or five different parts". Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that one of the results of discussions on the US peace plan between Ukraine and European countries was the removal of the clause on the rights of national minorities and religious freedom from the document.
Russia opposes Ukraine's accession to NATO. Kiev's desire to join the bloc is one of the reasons for the outbreak of the conflict, and its possible membership is a "threatening event" for Russia, the Kremlin explained.
In addition, Moscow is seeking the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Donbas. Russian President Vladimir Putin has described the territory as historically Russian and said it would be returned by military or other means. A ceasefire is possible only after the withdrawal of Ukrainian armed forces from the region, Ushakov stressed.