US Senators call Trump’s Ukraine plan a Russian ‘wish list’ as Rubio disputes claim

US officials and lawmakers are increasingly concerned about a meeting last month in which representatives of the Trump administration met with Kirill Dmitriev, a Russian envoy who is under US sanctions, to draft a plan to end the war in Ukraine, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

The meeting took place in Miami at the end of October and included special envoy Steve Witkoff, president Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Dmitriev, who leads the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), one of Russia’s largest sovereign wealth funds.

A close ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin, Dmitriev has taken a leading role in talks with the US about the war and has met with Witkoff several times this year.

The Trump administration has issued a special waiver to allow his entry, one senior US official told Reuters.

Dmitriev and RDIF were blacklisted by the US government in 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions effectively bar American citizens and companies from dealing with them.

The meeting resulted in a 28-point plan for ending the war, two people familiar with the situation said. The plan, which was made public earlier this week by Axios, came as a surprise to US officials in various corners of the administration and has stirred confusion at embassies throughout Washington and in European capitals.

It has also prompted criticism from the Ukrainians and their allies for appearing heavily tilted toward Russian interests, with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky vowing on Friday that he would not betray Ukraine’s interests.

The document, which calls for major concessions from Ukraine, appears to run counter to the tougher stance the Trump administration has lately taken toward Moscow, including sanctions on its energy sector.

It is unclear whether Dmitriev came to the meeting in Miami with certain Russian demands and whether those were incorporated into the peace plan.

Ukraine is being asked to give up land and forget the appalling violence that it has suffered, writes Bob Seely.

But peace is the last thing on Putin’s mind – winning in Ukraine and then humiliating the West remain his goals:

US senators critical of president Donald Trump’s approach to ending the Russia-Ukraine war said Saturday they spoke with US secretary of state Marco Rubio who told them that the peace plan Trump is pushing Kyiv to accept is a “wish list” of the Russians and not the actual US plan.

A State Department spokesperson denied their account, calling it “blatantly false”.

The 28-point peace plan was crafted by the Trump administration and the Kremlin without Ukraine’s involvement.

It acquiesces to many Russian demands that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has categorically rejected on dozens of occasions, including giving up large pieces of territory. Trump says he wants Ukraine to accept the plan by late next week.

At a security conference in Canada, Independent Maine Senator Angus King, Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Republican Mike Rounds from South Dakota said they spoke to Rubio after he reached out to some of them while on his way to Geneva for talks on the plan.

King said Rubio told them the plan “was not the administration’s plan” but a “wish list of the Russians”.

“This administration was not responsible for this release in its current form,” Rounds said.

“They want to utilise it as a starting point.”Rounds said “it looked more like it was written in Russian to begin with”.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday that the 28-point proposal for peace in Ukraine that emerged this week was authored by Washington, despite what a handful of senators said.

“It is offered as a strong framework for ongoing negotiations,” Rubio posted on X.

“It is based on input from the Russian side. But it is also based on previous and ongoing input from Ukraine.

“Senator Mike Rounds, a Republican, told reporters at a conference in Halifax earlier on Saturday that Rubio had called him and other senators and said it was a proposal that the US had received and passed on to Ukraine.

“He made it very clear to us that we are the recipients of a proposal that was delivered to one of our representatives,” Rounds said.

“It is not our recommendation, it is not our plan.”

The government is doing the British public no favours by not facing up to the Russian threat, writes Robert Fox – not least when military leaders are lining up to point out how unprepared we are for future conflict

National security advisors from France, Britain and Germany are going to meet with EU, US and Ukrainian officials in Geneva tomorrow to discuss the plans.

Ukraine and its European allies have all expressed reservations about the plan as it stands. Trump indicated on Saturday that there was some room for movement.

The US president has sketched out a timeline of just under a week to get a deal agreed. He said he had given Ukraine until next Thursday, caveating that this could move if negotiations show signs of progress.

For its part, Russia supports Trump’s proposal.

US officials and lawmakers are increasingly concerned about a meeting between Trump administration officials and Kirill Dmitriev, a Russian envoy under US sanctions, to draft a plan to end the war in Ukraine, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

The meeting took place in Miami at the end of October and included special envoy Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Dmitriev, who leads one of Russia’s largest sovereign wealth funds.

The plan that allegedly came from the meeting appears to run counter to the tougher stance the Trump administration has lately taken toward Moscow. The administration had appeared frustrated by Russia repeating its maximalist demands.

Many senior officials inside the State Department and on the National Security Council were not briefed on the plan, which seems to appease those demands, the two people familiar with the plan said.

The discussions with Dmitriev have also worried some inside the intelligence community, one US official familiar with the matter said.

Air traffic at another European airport has been suspended following a sighting of multiple drones.

“Counter-drone equipment is ready to act”, Dutch defence minister Ruben Brekelmans said. “An investigation is ongoing.”

Eindhoven serves both as a civilian and as a military airport. All types of air traffic were suspended, Brekelmans said.

The defence ministry did not comment on where the drones had come from.

The ‘deal’ being briefed out by Washington and Moscow is really just a blueprint for Russian conquest.

Sam Kiley explains why it doesn’t have to be that way:

Leaders of eight Nordic and Baltic nations said on Saturday they had spoken with Zelensky, reaffirming their support for Kyiv and pledging to keep supplying arms while strengthening Europe’s defences to deter further Russian aggression.

In a joint statement, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden said: “Russia has so far not committed to a ceasefire or any steps leading to peace.”

“Solutions that respect Ukraine‘s sovereignty and that will bring Ukraine and Europe greater security and stability have our full support,” the statement added.

The group also backed strengthening sanctions and wider economic measures against Moscow as long as the war continues.