Forbidden fruit

On 21 November, the United States presented a draft plan for ending the war in Ukraine, urging Kyiv and its allies to accept it by Thanksgiving (27 November).

Described by Kyiv as “capitulation and betrayal,” the plan calls, among other things, for Kiev to cede the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the east to Russia (which does not fully control them); to reduce its army to 600,000 soldiers (from around 800,000 today); a general amnesty for both sides (which would prevent Ukrainian victims of rape, torture and kidnapping from seeking justice); to renounce NATO membership; and for Moscow to be readmitted to the G8. 

Revealed by the American news site Axios following a leak whose origin is still unclear, the plan is considered very favourable to the Kremlin – to the point of being suspected of corresponding to the Kremlin’s wishlist – and criticised for having been designed without the input of Ukraine and its European allies. The latter are now racing against time to draw up a counter-proposal and arrange a series of meetings between Ukrainian and US emissaries to establish an “updated and refined peace framework.”