Zelenskyy ready for 'honest' work on U.S.-backed peace plan

Ukrainan President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said after talks with a top U.S. Army official on Thursday he was ready for "honest" work with Washington on a plan to end the war in Ukraine, while European allies pushed back against punishing concessions to Russia.

According to the 28-point U.S.-backed plan, Kyiv would be required to give up the entire Donbas region and significantly downsize its military, conditions long seen by Ukraine's allies as tantamount to capitulation.

The plan says Ukraine would have to limit its army to 600,000 troops and that it would "receive robust security guarantees," without providing further details.

It makes several concessions to Russia, including that Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk will be recognised as de facto Russian by the United States and that Ukrainian forces will withdraw from part of the Donetsk region that they control.

"This plan was drawn up immediately following discussions with one of the most senior members of President Zelenskyy's administration, Rustem Umerov, who agreed to the majority of the plan, after making several modifications, and presented it to President Zelenskyy," a senior U.S. official said.

Zelenskyy, whose office said he had received a draft of the plan, said after meeting U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll in Kyiv that Ukraine and Washington would work together on elements of it.

"Our teams - Ukraine and the U.S.- will work on the points of the plan to end the war," Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.

"We are ready for constructive, honest and prompt work."

Zelenskyy's office did not comment directly on the content of the peace plan, which has not been officially published, but said he had "outlined the fundamental principles that matter to our people."

"In the coming days, the President of Ukraine expects to discuss with President Trump the existing diplomatic opportunities and the key points required to achieve peace," it said.

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