Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced preparations for peace talks in Berlin with a US delegation. The final US delegation lineup remains unclear, but among the likely participants are US Presidential Special Representative Steven Witkhov and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who reportedly became more cautious about the ‘peace plan’ after recent talks in Moscow.
Other potential US participants include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, with whom European leaders want to institutionalize negotiations. In addition to Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Finnish President Alexander Stubb may also attend the meeting.
Ukraine has presented its own ‘counterplan’ for a ceasefire, with The New York Times reporting key details. The crucial difference of Kyiv’s plan is a ceasefire along the current separation line, with no territorial concessions to Russia—an approach previously supported by some in the US administration.
The article highlights constitutional contradictions related to changing Ukraine’s territorial integrity: one part of Ukraine’s Constitution strictly forbids territorial concessions, while another permits border changes only via referendum. International law, meanwhile, excludes border changes under aggression or occupation.
Another important element of Ukraine’s proposals concerns security guarantees. Ukraine demands legally binding guarantees, ideally comparable to NATO’s Article 5, and seeks to maintain its Euro-Atlantic course. The adoption of such guarantees in the US Congress is discussed as politically complex.
The author also comments on military capacity—specifically, potential limits on Ukraine’s armed forces and weapons production under some US scenarios. The issue of reparations and the distribution of frozen Russian assets in the West is also covered.
The analytical overview concludes by warning that the ‘illusion of quick peace’ may be used for societal destabilization by Russia and some foreign players.
