Ukrainian media have reported on a draft peace plan that Kyiv is discussing with Washington. According to the published information, Ukraine does not intend to withdraw its troops but proposes that Russia pull its forces out of the Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Sumy, and Kharkiv regions. The document does not contain any provisions on recognizing Crimea or Donbas as Russian territory.

The draft also does not include a commitment by Ukraine to refrain from joining NATO, while it does envisage future membership in the European Union. At the same time, Kyiv may receive security guarantees similar to Article 5 of NATO’s charter from the United States, the alliance, and European countries.

The plan states that Ukraine intends to hold elections, although no specific timeframe is provided. The country’s non-nuclear status is reaffirmed. Regarding the U.S. proposal to establish a free economic zone in Donbas, Kyiv is prepared to consider it only through a referendum held in territories under its control. However, the vote would concern approval of the entire peace agreement rather than individual provisions.

The document also предусматривает commitments to implement educational programs aimed at promoting understanding and tolerance, as well as to adopt EU rules on the protection of minority languages. No specific details are given regarding the status of the Russian language. In addition, the parties are expected to sign a non-aggression agreement, the principles of which would be incorporated into Russian legislation but not into Ukrainian law.

It is reported that the document was presented to journalists by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Earlier, in early December, Russian President Vladimir Putin met at the Kremlin with U.S. presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of Donald Trump. The talks lasted about five hours and focused on the substance of the peace initiative, but no compromise was reached.

Later, the Russian president stated that Washington had divided the original 27-point plan into four separate packages and proposed discussing them individually. He noted that he had reviewed nearly all of the points and that there were issues with which Moscow did not agree.

Subsequently, delegations from the United States and Ukraine held talks in Berlin. According to reports, Western countries agreed to provide Ukraine with security guarantees modeled on NATO’s Article 5. In return, U.S. representatives demanded territorial concessions from Kyiv, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said.

Over the past weekend, RDIF head Kirill Dmitriev held two additional rounds of talks with Witkoff and Kushner in Miami. The Kremlin said that Russia’s special representative was tasked with obtaining information on Washington’s contacts with Ukrainian and European counterparts and reporting the findings to President Putin.