Zelenskyy discusses territorial issues and security guarantees with Witkoff and Kushner

Over the past few days, Witkoff and Kushner collected proposals from both sides and pressured both Putin and Zelenskyy to make the concessions needed to reach a deal.

A source with knowledge of the call said discussions on territorial issues were complex. Russia, as part of the peace plan, continues to demand that Ukraine withdraw troops from parts of Donbas. However, the US is working on new ideas to resolve the issue, a second source said.

The second key topic was US security guarantees for Ukraine. One source said the parties made significant progress and are close to an agreement, but additional work is needed to ensure both sides interpret the draft guarantees consistently.

"The main challenging issues concern territorial matters and security guarantees. We are aiming to ensure that the agreed solutions are realistic, fair, and sustainable," Ukrainian Ambassador to the US Olha Stefanishyna told Axios.

Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umerov and Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Andrii Hnatov are expected to return from Miami to Europe. On Monday, they will brief Zelenskyy in London on the US proposals.

"We need to take all the drafts and to brainstorm," a Ukrainian official told Axios.

Further talks and meetings with Witkoff and Kushner are expected later this week, likely next week.

"Negotiations will continue, and in-person meetings are crucial," Stefanishyna said.

US peace plan

In November, Ukraine received a new US peace plan intended to end the war. The 28-point document was widely seen as favoring Russia and was drafted by Trump's Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev.

Amid disputes surrounding the plan, Ukrainian and US delegations have spent the past two weeks finalizing it to make it more favorable to Kyiv.

On December 2, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner visited Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and discuss the finalized plan.

A few days later, the Russian leader announced he had rejected part of the US proposals, adding that the document now contains 27 points divided into four packages. Earlier reports indicated that after talks with Ukraine, the plan had been reduced to 20 points.

According to The New York Times, one package addresses Ukrainian sovereignty, including limits on the size of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and missile ranges. Other packages cover territorial concessions, postwar economic cooperation between the US and Russia, and broader European security issues.

Yesterday, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umerov, who leads the Ukrainian delegation, said both sides discussed the results of the Moscow meeting and steps that could lead to the end of the war.