On November 18, a surprising piece of information was revealed by the US news site Axios: The Trump administration is secretly developing a new plan to end the conflict in Ukraine.
Notably, Washington has done this through direct consultations with Moscow.
Citing US and Russian officials, the newspaper said that this is a 28-point roadmap, inspired by the ceasefire plan in Gaza that Mr. Trump had proposed.
Similar to the Gaza model, the proposal is a comprehensive solution including four main pillars: Establishing peace in Ukraine, ensuring international security, a common security structure for Europe, and shaping the future of US relations with both Russia and Ukraine.
The key figure assigned by Trump to lead the drafting of the plan is US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. Sources say Witkoff has held In-depth discussions on the issue with his Russian counterpart, special delegate Kirill Dmitriev.
However, the US does not seem to completely put Kiev on the edge of these calculations. A Ukrainian official said Witkoff also discussed with Rustem Umerov - a security adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky - at a meeting in Miami (USA) earlier this week. The White House is also said to have begun to briefly notify European officials of the content of the proposal.
Information about the "28-point Roadmap" appeared at an extremely sensitive time and coincided with recent developments. Just a few days ago, Mr. Trump publicly refused to supply Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, a move seen as putting pressure on Kiev to negotiate. At the same time, Ukrainian politics are in turmoil due to the "Midas Campaign" corruption scandal targeting close figures of Ukrainian President Zelensky.
The White House's quiet work with Russia to draft a detailed peace plan could explain Trump's confidence in repeatedly declaring a quick "resolution to the conflict".
However, it also raises a big question about whether the terms in these 28 points include demands for Ukraine to cede territory, a red line that Kiev has always affirmed will never accept.
