US Vice President JD Vance said in Agra, India, on Wednesday that Moscow and Kiev must reach an agreement or Washington will end its efforts to reach a ceasefire. He added that “that means the Ukrainians and the Russians must – both of them – give up some of the territory they currently hold.”
“We have made a very explicit proposal to both the Russians and the Ukrainians, and it is time for them to say ‘yes’ or for the United States to withdraw from this process,” Vance told reporters during a four-day visit to India.
“I think the time has come to take, if not the final step, one of the final steps — which is, at a general level, for the parties to say that we will stop the killing, that we will freeze the territorial lines at a level close to where they are today,” Vance said.
He acknowledged that the plan would require both Russia and Ukraine “to give up some of the territory that they currently hold.”
Axios previously reported that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff withdrew from Wednesday’s talks in London after Ukraine signaled it wanted to focus on a proposed 30-day ceasefire rather than a broader US framework.
That framework, the news agency said, includes US recognition of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, de facto recognition of Moscow’s control over four other partially occupied Ukrainian regions, easing sanctions and promising future economic cooperation.
Axios noted that the proposed security guarantees for Ukraine remain vague.
What Russia Would Gain Under Trump’s Proposal
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Official U.S. recognition of Russia’s de jure control over Crimea
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De facto recognition of Russian occupation of most of Luhansk and parts of Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia
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A guarantee that Ukraine will not join NATO
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Text allows for Ukraine to potentially join the European Union
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Lifting of sanctions imposed since 2014
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Strengthened economic cooperation with the U.S., especially in energy and industry
What Ukraine Would Get Under Trump’s Proposal
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A “strong security guarantee” involving an ad-hoc group of European and potentially non-European allies
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The proposal is vague about the mechanics of this peacekeeping mission, and does not include U.S. participation
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Return of a small part of the Kharkiv region currently occupied by Russia
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Unrestricted crossing of the Dnipro River, which runs along parts of the southern frontline
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Compensation and reconstruction aid, though the document does not specify the funding sources
Other Elements of the Plan
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The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, would be recognized as Ukrainian territory but operated by the U.S., with electricity supplied to both Ukraine and Russia
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The document references a U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal, which Trump stated would be signed Thursday
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The plan was drafted after Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, held a four-hour meeting with Putin last week
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Following the proposal’s presentation, Putin offered to halt Russia’s invasion along current front lines as part of a potential agreement, according to the Financial Times
This is considered Putin’s clearest signal yet of willingness to negotiate peace, but European officials remain skeptical.
It is up to Ukraine to decide its future, a Downing Street spokesman said on Wednesday, when asked about US Vice President JD Vance’s call for Moscow and Kiev to swap territories to reach a ceasefire, AFP reports.
“We support the efforts made by the United States to put a lasting end to the war. I think that is what we all want. But ultimately, Ukraine must be the one to decide its future,” the spokesman said, as talks between Ukrainians, Americans and Europeans are taking place in London.
The French presidency also sent a message on Wednesday after the US vice president’s proposal for “territorial exchanges” between Kiev and Moscow, stressing that respecting “Ukraine’s territorial integrity and European vocation are very strong demands of Europeans,” AFP writes. “The objective remains to build a common approach that the United States could present to the Russians,” the Élysée Palace insisted, also in the context in which delegates from France, Britain and Germany arrived in London on Wednesday to meet with American and Ukrainian emissaries as part of negotiations for a ceasefire in Ukraine.
The European Union, for its part, expressed its support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity again on Wednesday. Officials in Brussels firmly maintained that the Crimean Peninsula, occupied by Russia, is part of Ukraine’s territory and urged Kiev to continue to strengthen its military, so as to have more power in peace negotiations.
“We stand with Ukraine, we support its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and when it comes to Crimea, the position is very clear: Crimea is Ukraine,” stressed spokesman Guillaume Mercier, during the daily press conference of the European Commission (EC).
“Our position on the peace negotiations has been very clear: it is up to Ukraine to set the conditions for a just and lasting peace, and nothing will happen without Ukraine and without the EU,” he said.
At the same time, “the stronger Ukraine is on the battlefield, the stronger it will be at the negotiating table,” Mercier added. He hopes that diplomatic efforts “will continue to support Ukraine, its right to defense and a long and lasting peace. This has been our commitment for three years.”
Donald Trump attacks Volodymyr Zelenski again, this time over Crimea
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday rebuked Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky for saying Ukraine would not recognize Russia’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, calling it an inflammatory statement that would make a peace deal with Russia more difficult to achieve, Reuters and AFP reported.
“This statement is very damaging to peace negotiations with Russia,” President Donald Trump wrote in a scathing post on Truth Social. The White House leader also wrote that the Crimean Peninsula was lost years ago “and is not even a point of discussion.”
“Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is boasting on the front page of The Wall Street Journal that, “Ukraine will not legally recognize the occupation of Crimea. There’s nothing to talk about here.” This statement is very harmful to the Peace Negotiations with Russia in that Crimea was lost years ago under the auspices of President Barack Hussein Obama, and is not even a point of discussion. Nobody is asking Zelenskyy to recognize Crimea as Russian Territory but, if he wants Crimea, why didn’t they fight for it eleven years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired? The area also houses, for many years before “the Obama handover,” major Russian submarine bases. It’s inflammatory statements like Zelenskyy’s that makes it so difficult to settle this War. He has nothing to boast about! The situation for Ukraine is dire — He can have Peace or, he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country. I have nothing to do with Russia, but have much to do with wanting to save, on average, five thousand Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, who are dying for no reason whatsoever. The statement made by Zelenskyy today will do nothing but prolong the “killing field,” and nobody wants that! We are very close to a Deal, but the man with “no cards to play” should now, finally, GET IT DONE. I look forward to being able to help Ukraine, and Russia, get out of this Complete and Total MESS, that would have never started if I were President!”, says Trump’s post.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko reiterated on Wednesday, as meetings on a possible ceasefire between her government’s envoys, Ukraine’s European partners and the United States were held in London, that Kiev would not recognize the Crimean Peninsula as Russian territory.
“We will never recognize the occupation of Crimea,” Sviridenko said on her X account, referring to one of the conditions the US is reportedly planning to impose on Ukraine to end the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had already said on Tuesday that recognizing Crimea, which was occupied and annexed by Russia in 2014, as part of the Russian Federation was an unacceptable option for Ukraine.