A mystery has emerged over the identity of the authors of the 28-point peace plan floated last week to bring the war in Ukraine to an end. It’s important as the knee-jerk reaction to initial reports is that it is a Kremlin sponsored wish-list, as more details emerge it appears that all three players of Russia, Ukraine and the US have contributed points.

Initially reported to be the work of US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, Kirill Dmitriev, over the weekend, Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed that the plan was drawn up by the White House, “with inputs from Russia and Ukraine.”

The distinction is important as some of the points in the plan, like the very large size of the Ukrainian army, will be unacceptable to the Kremlin. Other points in the plan, like Ukraine conceding its hold on the whole of the Donbas region, will be hard for Bankova to swallow. And other points like setting up a demilitarised zone (DMZ) in Donbas, look sponsored by the US and will be unacceptable for both Ukraine and Russia.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on X that Ukraine's allies were ready to work on the plan, but that before doing so "...it would be good to know for sure who is the author of the plan and where it was created."

Nevertheless, real progress seems to have been made on the first day of talks between US, Ukrainian and European officials in Geneva on November 23.

In a press conference following the first day of talks, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a “great deal of progress” had been made and he was “very optimistic” about the talks but highlighted that its an “on going process” and the terms of the deal.

“Today was the best day we have had in the entire ten months of these talks,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Some real common ground has appeared that could lay the ground for real progress in the ceasefire talks which had stalled after US President Donald Trump’s abortive attempt to organise the Budapest trilateral meeting in October.

America wrote the plan

Negotiations on the plan started during a two day meeting between Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, Kirill Dmitriev, in a meeting in Miami on October 24-26, where the main points were thrashed out, according to reports.

The source of the original leak that led to a story in Axios on November 19 has also become controversial. After the story broke, Witkoff seemed to suggest Dmitriev was the source of the leak. Reportedly in what was supposed to be a private message, Witkoff accidently posted on social media: “He must have got this from K,” in an apparent reference to Kirill Dmitriev.

The full 28-point list appeared at the end of the same day, leaked by Ukrainian politician Oleksiy Honcharenko, a member of former president Petro Poroshenko’s European Solidarity party. Dmitriev himself denied being the source of the leak and blamed Honcharenko.

Rubio was adamant that the US has led the drafting of the plan. Rubio and Trump's son-in-law Jerad Kushner subsequently reviewed and approved the draft, according to other reports. Trump was also informed of the plan and reportedly approved it.

"The peace proposal was authored by the US It is offered as a strong framework for ongoing negotiations," Rubio said in a post on social media. "It is based on input from the Russian side," Rubio added. "But it is also based on previous and ongoing input from Ukraine."

The plan offered by Washington is, “the sound base for talks on the settlement in Ukraine,’ he added.

Senator Mike Rounds, a Republican, told reporters at a conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia, that Rubio had called him and other senators. "He made it very clear to us that we are the recipients of a proposal that was delivered to one of our representatives," Rounds said. "It is not our recommendation, it is not our plan."

Many US senators are unhappy with the plan and are becoming frustrated by what they see as an unwinnable war.

In a rare break with Trump, Senator Lindsey Graham openly criticized the new peace plan on November 22, saying it was “problematic” calling on Trump to reconsider. Graham has been an ardent supporter of Ukraine and proposed a bi-partisan law that would impose 500% tariffs on any country that continues to do business with Russia: namely India and China’s ongoing imports of Russian oil.

“While there are many good ideas in the proposed Russia-Ukraine peace plan, there are several areas that are very problematic and can be made better,” Graham wrote on X.

EU leaders unhappy

European leaders have also cast doubt on the US claim that it drew the draft proposal up.

"There are many things that cannot simply be an American proposal, which requires broader consultation," said French President Emmanuel Macron.

Brussel’s reaction to the plan has been overwhelmingly negative after it was excluded from the process yet again. Most European capitals claim the first they heard of it was from the Axios report on November 19.

However, it has emerged that the EU may not have been entirely excluded. The Berliner Zeitung reported that the German Chancellor’s was briefed on a meeting between US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, Kirill Dmitriev, in Miami on October 24 on a few days after it happened and the Chancellor himself was informed on the talks on November 4, but took no action.