According to a draft of Trump's peace proposal that was able to get, Ukraine would give up territory to Russia.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, is under increasing pressure to demonstrate accountability in the face of a corruption scandal that poses the biggest danger to his government since Russia's full-scale invasion.

WASHINGTON According to a draft obtained by The Associated Press on Thursday, President Donald Trump's plan to end the war in Ukraine would limit Kyiv's military size and give land to Russia.

The plan, which came from talks between Washington and Moscow, seemed clearly advantageous to Russia, who invaded its neighbor to start the war over four years ago. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, has previously rebuffed Trump's demands for territorial concessions, so it would seem impossible if precedent is prologue.

By stating that a future "significant, deliberate and sustained armed attack" by Russia would be seen as "threatening the peace and security of the transatlantic community," a side agreement seeks to allay Ukrainian security fears. Although it states that they would "determine the measures necessary to restore security," the agreement, which was described by a senior U.S. official who was not permitted to discuss the issue in public, does not require the United States or its European allies to act on Ukraine's behalf.

Trump may become emboldened rather than defeated as a result of his push to end the war, since European officials are certain to oppose any deal that may be interpreted as rewarding Russian President Vladimir Putin for his aggressiveness.

The plan makes it possible to remove sanctions against Russia and reintegrate it into the Group of Eight, which used to comprise several of the largest economies in the world. After annexing Crimea, a strategically significant peninsula on the northern coast of the Black Sea that is internationally recognized as a part of Ukraine, Russia was barred from the annual event in 2014.

According to a senior administration official, U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll was also in Kyiv on Thursday and spoke with Zelenskyy on the most recent draft. Zelenskyy did not explicitly address the proposal's content, but he did make a cautious statement about it on social media.

"The provisions of the proposal to halt the fighting will be worked on by our teams from the United States and Ukraine. We are prepared to work quickly, honestly, and constructively," he stated.

According to two senior administration sources, Trump's special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, has notified the White House that he will be leaving his position in January.

Trump would supervise adherence to the ceasefire

The White House sees the idea as a compromise since it would require Russia to pledge not to launch any further attacks. Furthermore, the reconstruction of Ukraine would receive $100 billion in frozen Russian assets.

But giving over territory to Russia would be extremely unpopular in Ukraine. Additionally, it would be against Ukraine's constitution. Zelenskyy has consistently excluded this option.

Additionally, Russia would be permitted to retain half of the electricity produced by Zaporizhzhia, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, which it had taken from Ukraine early in the conflict.

Sanctions would be applied if either Russia or Ukraine broke the truce after it was put into effect.

The proposed plan was rejected by Air Force veteran U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb. He wrote on social media, "Unacceptable." "It is a 1938 Munich," alluding to a diplomatic pact that was intended to bring about peace with Nazi Germany but was generally seen as setting the stage for World War II.

Diplomats from Europe call for more extensive consultations

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated on Thursday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Witkoff have been discreetly working on the peace plan for a month, getting input from both Russians and Ukrainians on parameters that are acceptable to both sides. Witkoff and Putin's close advisor Kirill Dmitriev were instrumental in the proposal's development.

European officials were taken aback when news of the proposal surfaced and demanded that they and Ukraine be consulted.

This year, signs that Trump's administration may be ignoring them and Zelenskyy in its efforts to put an end to the violence have already frightened European officials. These worries have been heightened by Trump's somewhat accommodative stance toward Putin, but this month he took a more assertive stance when he slapped severe sanctions on Russia's crucial oil industry, which take effect on Friday.

At the beginning of a meeting of the foreign ministers of the 27-nation bloc in Brussels, European Union foreign policy leader Kaja Kallas stated, "Any plan needs Ukrainians and Europeans on board." Additionally, she said that the draft will be overly pro-Moscow.

Kallas stated, "We haven't heard of any concessions on the Russian side."

Witkoff and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan spoke over the phone on Thursday, according to German Foreign Minister Johannes Wadephul, about "our various current efforts to end Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and thus finally put an end to the immeasurable human suffering."

Ukraine's deputy U.N. Khrystyna Hayovyshyn, ambassador, informed the U.N. She emphasized Ukraine's "red lines" while informing the Security Council that Kyiv has formally received Trump's draft peace plan and is prepared "to work constructively."

"Ukrainian territory temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation will never be recognized as Russian, either formally or informally," she declared. "We are not selling our land."

"Ukraine will not tolerate any infringement on our sovereignty, including our sovereign right to choose the alliances we want to join, nor will it accept any limits on its right to self-defense or on the size and capabilities of our armed forces," Hayovyshyn continued.

Trump has long advocated for an end to hostilities.

The peace plan was initially published by Axios, although it was unclear if European foreign ministers had seen it.

Some aspects of the plan were not new, even if they were taken by surprise. Last month, Trump declared that the Donbas territory should be "cut up," giving Russia control over the majority of it.

But so far this year, the administration's diplomatic attempts to put an end to the fighting have failed. Plans to meet again in Budapest, Hungary, did not materialize, and a summit between Trump and Putin in Alaska failed to produce a breakthrough during the summer.

Trump often expressed dissatisfaction about the length of the Ukraine negotiations compared to other crises he assisted in mediating.

He stated this week, "I thought that was going to be my easy one because I have a good relationship with President Putin." "But at the moment, I'm a little disappointed in President Putin."

From Kyiv, Novikov reported. This article was written by Associated Press reporters Edith M. Lederer at the UN, Sam McNeil in Brussels, Samya Kullab in Kyiv, and Katie Marie Davies in Manchester, England.