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A U.S.-backed 28-point peace plan to end the war in Ukraine, which became public in April 2025, was significantly influenced by a Russian document shared with U.S. officials earlier in the year, according to three sources familiar with the matter. The American proposal, sometimes referred to as the "Trump Plan," contained at least 17 points that were identical or very similar to a 29-point draft originating from Moscow.
The revelations highlight the complex and secretive nature of the back-channel negotiations aimed at resolving the conflict. The American plan was presented by Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, during talks in Europe. The Russian document that served as its basis was reportedly shared by senior Russian official Dmitry Kozak with U.S. counterparts in early 2025 as a potential foundation for discussions. Key overlapping articles in both documents included calls for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all prisoners of war, the restoration of trade, and the establishment of a demilitarized zone.
According to reports, the discovery that a U.S.-led initiative was heavily based on a Russian draft has raised new questions about the diplomatic process. While the U.S. plan did introduce some of its own points, the core framework appears to have been adopted from the Russian proposal. Both the White House and the Kremlin have declined to comment on the matter, maintaining silence on the origins of the peace initiative.
This development comes as Kyiv continues to pursue a different diplomatic path. Ukraine has consistently rejected proposals that would legitimize Russia's de facto control over occupied territories. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been actively involved in promoting his own 10-point peace formula, which demands the full withdrawal of Russian troops from all of Ukraine's internationally recognized territory. In parallel, Zelenskiy has pursued separate peace discussions with international partners like Turkey, seeking to build a global coalition around Kyiv's vision for a just end to the war. The similarities between the U.S. and Russian documents, as reported by multiple international news outlets, underscore the vast divide that remains between the proposals circulating in diplomatic circles and the conditions deemed acceptable by the Ukrainian government.
