A Ukrainian peace plan, sent this week to Washington, pushes back against President Trump’s proposal that Ukraine give up more land for peace, although Russia is unlikely to accept it.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/world/europe/ukraine-trump-peace-plan-counterproposal.html

Let me summarize the article:

Trump’s Proposal:

• Ukraine to relinquish more territory than it currently controls to secure peace with Russia.

• Ukraine to give upor freeze its NATO ambitions

Zeleansky's Counter Proposal:

• Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine’s security guarantees should be presented to and approved by the U.S. Congress to make them legally binding, contrasting this with Ukraine’s view of the Trump proposal.

• Rejects any requirement to renounce its right to join NATO.

• Zelensky has stressed that any territorial decisions must involve Ukraine’s people through a referendum and cannot be imposed unilaterally. 

Prior versions of the peace framework included ideas like a “free economic zone” in parts of Donbas and territorial withdrawal in exchange for a demilitarized status, but no common understanding has been reached on land issues.  Zelensky put his finger exactly where it hurts when he asked what would stop Russian forces from disguising themselves as civilians and quietly taking control of such a zone.