Washington: US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Ukraine would reportedly require Kyiv to surrender territory to Russia and accept strict limits on the size of its armed forces. These terms are widely expected to be unacceptable to Ukraine and deeply contentious among European allies.

A draft proposal obtained by The Associated Press (AP), said to have emerged from negotiations between Washington and Moscow, appears heavily weighted in Russia’s favour.

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Among its provisions, the draft would bar Ukraine from joining NATO and halt any future enlargement of the alliance, a long-standing Russian demand and a major strategic gain for the Kremlin. Russia would also retain all of the eastern Donbas region, despite roughly 14% of it remaining under Ukrainian control. Ukraine’s armed forces, currently totalling around 880,000 personnel, would be reduced to 600,000.

Proposed nearly four years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, the plan opens the possibility of lifting sanctions on Russia and readmitting it to what was formerly the Group of Eight. Moscow was suspended from the group in 2014 following its annexation of Crimea.

Under the proposal, Russia would pledge not to launch future attacks, a commitment the White House views as a concession, while US$100 billion in frozen Russian assets would be allocated for Ukraine’s reconstruction. Russia would also be allowed to keep half of the power generated by the Zaporizhzhia, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, captured from Ukraine early in the war.

A “Peace Council” overseen by Trump would be created to monitor the agreement. The mechanism echoes a similar structure from Trump’s peace plan for Israel and Hamas. Either side breaching the truce would face renewed sanctions.

Earlier ceasefire talks came to nothing

Efforts earlier this year to secure a diplomatic breakthrough have faltered. A summer summit between Trump and Putin in Alaska produced no progress, and a planned follow-up meeting in Budapest did not occur.

Trump has repeatedly voiced frustration at the slow pace of negotiations. “I thought that was going to be my easy one because I have a good relationship with President Putin,” he said this week. “But I’m a little disappointed in President Putin right now.”

Zelenskyy and European leaders are likely to criticise plan

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has consistently rejected any settlement involving the loss of Ukrainian land and has previously dismissed Trump’s calls for territorial concessions. European leaders are also poised to criticise the plan.

According to a senior US administration official speaking anonymously, work on the proposal began shortly after US special envoy Steve Witkoff met Rustem Umerov, a senior adviser to Zelenskyy. Umerov reportedly accepted most of the plan, with some amendments, before presenting it to the Ukrainian president. US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll was also in Kyiv on Thursday to discuss the draft.

Zelenskyy issued a cautious statement on social media, writing: “Our teams — of Ukraine and the United States — will work on the provisions of the plan to end the war. We are ready for constructive, honest and swift work.”

AP inputs