Washington D.C. – A proposed peace plan for Ukraine,reportedly backed by the Trump management,is facing sharp criticism from both sides of the aisle in the U.S. Congress and raising concerns among European allies. The bipartisan Congressional Ukraine Caucus condemned the plan Saturday, asserting it ”appears to favor the interest of the aggressor,” Russian President Vladimir Putin, “over the sovereignty and security of a democratic Ukraine.”
The caucus stated the framework “does not offer a genuine path to lasting peace, but rather, demands the surrender and capitulation of Ukraine to Russian aggression.” They expressed “serious concerns” regarding the Trump administration’s support and called for continued international support for Ukraine, emphasizing the principles of territorial integrity and self-determination. “Lasting peace comes not from conceding to aggression, but from the strength and unity of free nations that refuse to bow to it,” the caucus said.
European governments were not involved in drafting the proposal, according to European officials contacted by CBS News. Western leaders at the G20 summit in South Africa indicated the plan requires “additional work.”
The plan’s emergence follows recent meetings between U.S. and Russian and Ukrainian officials. Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with Kirill Dmitriev, a key advisor to Putin, in Miami on Oct. 24 to develop the proposal.
Ukrainian envoys are scheduled to meet with a U.S. delegation - including Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Witkoff – in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss the proposal.Nine Ukrainian officials, including Zelenskyy‘s chief of staff, will participate in the talks.
The developments come as Ukraine commemorates it’s “great famine,” imposed by Soviet leader Josef Stalin in the early 1930s, which led to millions of deaths from starvation. In a video address Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr zelenskyy reaffirmed his nation’s resolve: “We defended, defend and will always defend Ukraine…Because only hear is our home. And in our home, Russia will definitely not be the master.”
