The US and Ukraine are hunting for a formula to meet the Kremlin’s demands that the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) withdraw from the Donbas region that doesn’t mention the word “withdraw”.

“There are some points I don’t like,” Zelenskiy said during a two-hour press briefing on December 24. However, he confirmed that Kyiv had succeeded in removing immediate withdrawal obligations and a clause that would have recognised Russian control over occupied territories. Also dropped was a demand for Ukraine to formally renounce its Nato ambitions.

The plan represents Washington’s most serious attempt to broker a ceasefire ahead of the 2026 US presidential election, with President Donald Trump eager to position himself as a global peacemaker.

The peace talks to end the war in Ukraine are inching towards a deal but remain stuck over the issue of territorial control. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy sent a revised 20-point peace plan (20PPP) to the White House on December 24 with fresh concessions as they seek a formula that is acceptable to both the Kremlin and Bankova (Ukraine’s equivalent of the Kremlin).

Russian President Vladimir Putin has dug his heels in with the upper hand on the battlefield and made it clear that he is not prepared to compromise on the demand that the AFU withdraw from the 15% of the Donetsk region in the Donbas that the Armed Forces of Russia (AFR) does not already control.

Zelenskiy has also dug his heels in and has so far refused to contemplate withdrawing as, among other reasons, that territory contains the “Fortress Line”, a formidable set of extensive defences built up by Ukraine in the last year. The worry is if Kyiv gives up these defences there is little to prevent the AFR walking to the Dnipro River that divides the country in half.

Donbas

In what looks like significant progress, on the table is the suggestion that the AFU pulls back troops by 5, 10 or 40km in the 15% of Donetsk it still holds. In exchange, Russia would have to withdraw troops by the same distance, says Zelenskiy, which would create a de facto demilitarised or "free economic zone".

Zelenskiy said the plan recognises current positions as de facto lines of contact and troop pullbacks, redeployments, and economic zones would be decided by a working group. He confirms Ukraine has not agreed to withdraw, but the plan now allows for “options we were previously reluctant to consider,” Zelenskiy said.

“We are in a situation where the Russians want us to withdraw from the Donetsk region, while the Americans are trying to find a way,” Zelenskiy said. “They are looking for a demilitarised zone or a free economic zone — a format that could satisfy both sides.”

Questions over territory would need to be resolved “at the leaders’ level” according to the plan, suggesting that if the revised 20PPP gets the okay from the Kremlin there would still have to be a direct meeting between Zelenskiy and Putin to settle the territory details. This was also part of the failed 2022 Istanbul peace deal, where the final step in the negotiations was a face-to-face meeting between Putin and Zelenskiy to deal with the very thorniest points.

However, in the last week Zelenskiy has suggested that he may be willing to make a concession and withdraw his troops from Donetsk, if the AFR also withdraws from their positions, effectively creating a Korean DMZ-model or “free economic zone” suggested by the Trump envoys.

Kremlin yet to respond

It remains unclear if the Kremlin will accept this sort of compromise as so far Putin has signalled that he is not willing to make any concessions on territory at all and has repeatedly said that if Kyiv refuses to withdraw that he will end the conflict “by force.”

The new revised 20PPP is the result of intense talks at the Miami meeting on December 20-21 that involve bi-lateral meetings between the US envoys, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner in the US team and Ukrainian Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council Rustem Umerov, who is leading the Ukrainian team. In parallel, the US envoys also had separate meetings with the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, Kirill Dmitriev, who is leading the Russian effort. There are no plans for a tri-lateral meeting at the moment.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed December 24 that Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev had briefed Putin following the Miami meetings with US representatives. “Now we mean to formulate our position on the basis of the information that was received by the head of state,” Peskov said, adding that future contacts would take place “through the existing channels.”

The national security advisors from the E3 (France, Britain and Germany) nations were also present at the US-Ukraine talks, but Zelenskiy said that none of their suggestions were incorporated into the 20PPP. Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s top foreign policy advisor made it very clear last week that any European input was, “not helpful.”

The EU has largely been cut out of the negotiations. The 27-point peace plan (27PPP) that emerged from the Moscow meeting on December 3 between the US envoys and Putin, which is the basis of that list. The EU had offered a revised version of the list following a Geneva summit on November 23, however, the US team completely ignored these suggestions and presented Putin with the original 28-point peace plan (28PPP) thrashed out between Witkoff and Dmitriev in October that was in keeping with a framework agreement between Putin and US President Donald Trump that came out of the Alaska summit on August 15.

20-point plan

The US team knows the Russian position intimately and have been trying to find a workable compromise in talks with Zelenskiy – in effect the first indirect negotiations between Zelenskiy and Putin.

A revised 20-point peace framework jointly developed by Ukraine and the US may pave the way to ending Russia’s full-scale war as the talks zero in on resolving the two key remaining issues of land and security guarantees for a post-war Ukraine.

“We have made significant progress toward finalising the documents,” Zelenskiy said at a press conference on December 23, outlining not only the new plan, but also accompanying security and economic agreements with the US and Europe.

Among them are a trilateral security guarantee draft, a bilateral pact with the US, and a separate “roadmap for Ukraine’s prosperity.”

The revised plan has been sent to Moscow on Christmas eve for consideration, according to Ukrainian officials. An answer is expected on Christmas Day – a normal working day in Russia, which celebrates Christmas Day on January 7 according to the Julian calendar.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has already rejected claims of a “breakthrough” in peace talks by US Vice President JD Vance.

If accepted, the ceasefire would begin immediately and be followed by a ratification process, either via the Ukrainian parliament or a national referendum within 60 days.

The 20PPP has also dropped Ukraine’s Nato membership ambitions, in another must-have concession for Putin.

Control over the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is another thorny issue covered by the revised plan. Russia is currently in control of the NPP, the largest in Europe. There are various suggestions on who controls the plant after a ceasefire, including joint Russia-Ukraine-US ownership and sharing its power out between Russia and Ukraine. However, Bankova is still against giving up control. “We do not want any Russian oversight of the facility,” Zelenskiy said at the press conference.

The plan would need the signatures of Ukraine, the US, Russia, and a yet-to-be-determined European representation, with oversight led by US President Donald Trump, who would chair the proposed Peace Council.

The 20-point peace plan (draft)

1. Affirmation of Ukraine’s sovereignty.
2. Non-aggression pact between Ukraine and Russia, with US satellite-based monitoring.
3. Security guarantees for Ukraine.
4. Ukrainian Armed Forces capped at 800,000 personnel in peacetime.
5. Article 5–like defence guarantees from the US, Nato, and Europe, with stipulations:
   • Military response and sanctions if Russia invades
   • Guarantees void if Ukraine initiates aggression
   • Previous bilateral security deals remain in force
6. Russia to formalise its non-aggression stance in law via the State Duma.
7. Ukraine to become an EU member on a defined timeline (e.g. 2027 or 2028) and gain preferential market access.
8. A global development package, including:
   • Investment fund for tech, AI, and infrastructure
   • US partnership in restoring gas infrastructure
   • Urban reconstruction and mineral extraction
   • World Bank support
   • Appointment of a global financial expert as “prosperity administrator”
9. Creation of funds to mobilise $800bn for reconstruction and humanitarian relief.
10. Fast-track negotiations for a US–Ukraine free trade agreement.
11. Ukraine reaffirms non-nuclear status under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
12. Dispute over the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant remains unresolved:
    • US proposes joint 33/33/33% oversight by Ukraine, Russia, and the US
    • Ukraine seeks a Ukraine–US joint venture and demands demilitarisation of surrounding areas

13.        Cultural reconciliation measures: education reforms to promote tolerance and protect minority rights.

14.        Disputed front lines and occupied regions:

o   De facto lines recognised as of signing

o   Withdrawal required from Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Kharkiv

o   Potential “free economic zones” proposed as compromise

o   International monitors to oversee implementation

15.        Commitment by both sides to settle disputes non-violently.

16.        Russia to allow Ukraine full access to the Dnipro River and Black Sea, with Kinburn Spit demilitarised.

17.        Establishment of a humanitarian committee, overseeing:

o All-for-all prisoner exchange

o Release of civilians, children, political prisoners

o Aid for war victims

18.        Ukraine to hold presidential elections shortly after the deal is signed.

19.        The deal will be legally binding, overseen by a Peace Council chaired by President Trump, including Ukraine, Russia, Nato, and EU representatives.

20.        Immediate ceasefire upon signature by all parties.

Separately, Zelenskiy said that new presidential elections would be held “as soon as possible” after a ceasefire was implemented, which was part of the original 28PPP, but explicitly included in the new 20PPP version.

Ukraine’s parliament approved the creation of a cross-party working group on December 23 to draft a one-off law allowing exceptional elections during martial law in preparation – another sign that a deal is close.

Notably, the revised plan also drops the controversial provisions from the 28-point draft including a waiver of legal recourse for war crimes, which had provoked strong opposition in Kyiv.

Zelenskiy has also said that any question of transferring territory would have to be approved by a referendum but this was not included in the list and the Kremlin has made it clear that the deal has to be signed first as it will not pause the conflict to give Ukraine time to organise a referendum.

Zelenskiy confirmed Ukraine still opposes Russian control over Zaporizhzhia, and negotiations over a potential demilitarised Donbas or “economic zones” continue.

“We fought for a single word—potential,” Zelenskiy said, referring to the proposal's flexible language on territorial compromise. “If we do not agree to remain where we are, there are two options: either the war continues, or something will have to be decided.”

Observers say the document represents Washington’s strongest push yet to broker a negotiated ceasefire ahead of the 2026 US election cycle.

If accepted, the deal would reshape Europe’s security architecture and Ukraine’s post-war recovery—but only if it survives domestic scrutiny and international scepticism.