Ukraine seeks urgent changes to Trump peace plan that appeases Russia

U.S. and Ukrainian officials met in Geneva on Sunday to work through a new version of a controversial plan to end Russia’s war in Ukraine ahead of a Thanksgiving deadline imposed by the United States, while President Donald Trump faced mounting criticism from lawmakers and his own base over the proposal.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is leading the U.S. delegation, sought to downplay widespread claims that the plan was written by the Russian side. The leaked draft ignores many of Kyiv’s red lines: It would force Ukraine to shrink its army, give up land that Russia hasn’t managed to grab in nearly four years of war and would bar the presence of NATO troops, among other concessions.

Rubio told reporters in Geneva that the initial plan was an early document that had received “input from both sides.” The talks with Ukrainians on Sunday were the most positive so far, Rubio said, but he declined to describe more details, citing the ongoing nature of negotiations. “This is a living, breathing document. Every day, with input, it changes,” he said. The top U.S. diplomat also de-emphasized the Thanksgiving deadline, suggesting more negotiations could be ahead. More talks are planned for this week, but details have not been released.

European officials, including those from France and Germany, have been working on a counterproposal, according to a document obtained by The Washington Post, which would begin territorial negotiations at the front line — not beyond it — and give Ukraine “robust, legally binding security guarantees, including from the U.S.”

Rubio said he met with national security advisers of key European partners in Geneva, adding that they would have heard the “incredible amount of positivity from both the Ukrainian and American side about the progress we’ve made today.”

“We are coordinating our positions, and it is important that there is dialogue, that diplomacy has been reinvigorated,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on social media on Sunday. He said he had just spoken to French President Emmanuel Macron, adding that Ukraine was grateful to Trump for his efforts and for U.S. leadership.

Trump said on Truth Social that he “inherited” the war, that Ukraine’s leaders were not sufficiently grateful for U.S. assistance, and that European countries were still buying oil from Russia. He did not criticize Russian President Vladimir Putin in the message.

Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, Olha Stefanishyna, told CBS’ “Face the Nation” that a separate framework document outlines potential U.S. security guarantees to Ukraine, including pledges that Washington and its allies would assist if Ukraine faces aggression from Russian territory. But, sounding skeptical, she noted that the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 began from Belarus’ territory, and that security pledges Kyiv received in 1994 after giving up nuclear weapons stationed on its territory were not honored.

Privately, the Trump administration was “not treating this plan as immovable,” said a person familiar with the negotiations, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly. It has been “communicated to the Ukrainians that there is some room for negotiations.” Still, Washington “also made clear that they want an agreement soon” and “the threat to suspend U.S. assistance is dead serious,” the official said.

Questions remain over whether Trump’s team can reach an agreement with Ukrainian and European partners before the U.S.-imposed deadline arrives. Once again, Ukraine must try to convince an unpredictable White House that it’s Russia that must make concessions to its maximalist demands — not Ukraine.