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On Monday Ukraine’s Dictator Vladimir Zelensky said that the initial draft of a peace plan has been created and all core documents are ready. The development comes after his negotiation team met with President Donald Trump’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and White House staff member Josh Gruenbaum for a meeting over the weekend in Miami, Florida to advance a peace plan which has been postponed, stalled and delayed by Zelensky over the last month.
Witkoff was also meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Special Envoy Kirill Dmitriev over the weekend, likely seeking to find common ground between Russia and Ukraine and work out disagreements which have been hindering a consensus between the warring nations.
Zelensky posted a video on Monday afternoon in which he postured Ukraine as powerful and Russia as weakened under international pressure. While there are facts which may back this up to some extent, it may also indicate that the Dictator is putting a good face on a bad situation – ending a war with no net benefit, just millions dead and billions spent.
Zelensky also detailed the developments from the meeting between his officials and the American team in Florida over the weekend.
Our negotiating team is now returning from Miami. They will arrive at night, and I will have the details in the morning. In my view, everything possible that we needed to do for the initial drafts had already been done. There are 20 points of the plan. Not everything is perfect so far, but this plan is in place. There are security guarantees – between us, the Europeans, and the United States. A framework paper. There is a separate document between us and the United States – bilateral security guarantees. This is what we see: they must be reviewed by the U.S. Congress, with certain details and annexes remaining classified. As of today, this all looks quite solid and dignified. For now, however, these are working drafts prepared by our military. Importantly, they have been developed by us and by the United States of America. This indicates that we are very close to a real outcome. We are also developing the first draft of the agreement on Ukraine’s recovery. Economic strategy.
The core of all documents is ready. The core one. There are certain things we are not prepared to accept. And there are things – of that I am sure – that the Russians are not prepared to accept either. The Americans are currently continuing negotiations with Russian representatives. They will hold talks, and then we will receive feedback from them. From our side, they have received all the information.
Witkoff also detailed the meeting, explaining what developments took place and reported that the Ukrainians are genuinely “committed to achieving a just and sustainable peace.”
Over the last three days in Florida, the Ukrainian delegation held a series of productive and constructive meetings with American and European partners.
The Ukrainian delegation included Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Rustem Umerov, and the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Andriy Hnatov.
The American delegation included Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, and White House staff member Josh Gruenbaum.
Key European National Security Advisors also joined the discussions to align on a shared strategic approach between Ukraine, the United States, and Europe.
A separate constructive meeting was also held in a U.S.–Ukraine format, during which four key documents were focused on: further development of a 20-point plan, aligning positions on a Multilateral security guarantee framework, aligning positions on a US Security guarantee framework for Ukraine, and further development on an economic & prosperity plan.
Particular attention was given to discussing timelines and the sequencing of next steps.
Ukraine remains fully committed to achieving a just and sustainable peace.
Our shared priority is to stop the killing, ensure guaranteed security, and create conditions for Ukraine’s recovery, stability, and long-term prosperity.
Peace must be not only a cessation of hostilities, but also a dignified foundation for a stable future.
Ukraine highly values the leadership and support of the United States and the continued close coordination with its partners in the next stages of this important work.
Regarding the security guarantees Witkoff mentioned, Zelensky announced on Monday that they will include an 800,000-man Ukrainian military, European Union membership (which Russia is fine with, unlike NATO membership) and protection from the Coalition of the Willing (a group of European NATO member states).
Security guarantees for Ukraine: Ukrainian-American, Ukrainian-European, and Ukrainian.
First.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine – an army of 800,000 – which requires funding. To ensure the contracts we have already discussed it with the military at the Staff meeting. This funding requires additional partner support. We will provide a certain level of funding for our army, but additional funds are required.Second – membership in the European Union. There are many dimensions to this. Everyone understands this first and foremost in terms of economic security guarantees and markets. There is also a military component, SAFE, and other programs that EU membership opens up.
The third component of security guarantees is the Coalition of the Willing. We will discuss what US backstop is and what specific details it may include – air defense, aviation, intelligence, and more. These are forces that must ensure Ukraine’s security in the air, on land, and at sea. The Coalition will include 30 countries. There will be key countries providing presence in specific domains, and there will be others providing security related to energy, finances, assistance, and shelters – countries that are neutral under their own sovereign constitutions.
Security guarantees with the United States of America. The key security guarantees that will be legally binding, voted on and supported by the U.S. Congress. This is precisely where the fundamental difference lies compared to the Budapest Memorandum, the Minsk agreements, or other arrangements. We are discussing the duration of these guarantees, their possible extension in the same format in which they are adopted. In addition, there is a deterrence package – what an 800,000-strong army will be equipped with. What Ukraine’s army will have.
In addition to meeting with the Ukrainian team over the weekend, Witkoff also Met With Russian Special Envoy Kirill Dmitriev in Florida as well:
Over the last two days in Florida, the Russian Special Envoy Kirill Dmitriev held productive and constructive meetings with the American delegation to advance President Trump’s peace plan on Ukraine.
The American delegation included Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, and White House staff member Josh Gruenbaum.
Russia remains fully committed to achieving peace in Ukraine. Russia highly values the efforts and support of the United States to resolve the Ukrainian conflict and re-establish global security.
On Sunday, while his team was meeting with the officials from Washington, Zelensky posted a video where he discussed the ongoing negotiations.
Ukraine’s negotiating team is currently working in Florida – there will be more meetings today with the American delegation, with envoys of President Trump. Work on the documents on ending the war, on security guarantees, and on reconstruction is ongoing – they are going through each point in detail, and there is constructive engagement with the American side. This is important. They are also discussing timing – possible timeframes for specific decisions. I am expecting a report from Rustem Umerov and Andrii Hnatov on the details of the discussion.
The Dictator is facing a deadline to sign a peace plan. President Trump threatened to cut off Ukraine’s aid by Thanksgiving if Zelensky failed to agree to end the war. With that date passing and no agreement being signed, Trump extended the deadline to Christmas.
The Dictator anticipates continuing his war into 2026, says Trump may die and has already collected his 2026 war funding from European nations and the U.S. Congress.
Witkoff has been meeting with officials from Kiev and Moscow over the course of the year to develop a plan both sides will agree to.
Zelensky has continued to point out that Russia is waging an ongoing war against Ukraine, despite him refusing Trump’s peace plans throughout 2025.
As for the strikes. When the Germans and the Americans proposed a Christmas ceasefire, there was nothing new in the fact that the Russians immediately jumped in and said: no, we do not want anything like that. The problem is that when Russia says there will be no Christmas ceasefire, that is, in principle, always what they say – they deliberately underscore such statements. After these signals from them, I instructed our intelligence services to significantly step up their work and get a clear picture of where we stand.
We understand that precisely on these days they may – this is in their nature – carry out massive strikes on Christmas. And today we had a Staff meeting on this, and the number one issue was air defense: the protection of our cities, villages, and communities, especially on the 23rd, 24th, and 25th. This needs to be paid attention to. The military must pay attention directly, ensure protection as much as they can. Everything is very difficult, because there is, unfortunately, a shortage of air defense systems. And people also need to pay attention – serious attention – during these days, because these “comrades” may launch such strikes – there is nothing sacred for them.
As for our air defense systems. Ukraine is working on this. Here, everything depends on the technical capabilities of our specialists and how quickly they will be able to do this. But air defense systems cannot be created instantly. We are close to the relevant results. We want the war to end, and we will continue to strengthen ourselves. We are working on a strong contract with the Americans for dozens – several dozen – Patriot systems, to be procured through various programs. All of this work is ongoing, and I am confident there will be results.
