The 28-point US-supported peace framework for ending the war in Ukraine, made public last week, was partly based on a document drafted by Moscow and submitted to the Trump administration in October, Reuters reported, citing three individuals familiar with the matter.

Sources say Russian officials provided the paper, which detailed Moscow’s terms for halting the conflict, to senior US figures in mid-October after a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington. The draft, described as a diplomatic “non-paper", repeated long-standing Russian demands previously tabled in negotiations, including territorial concessions in eastern Ukraine that Kiev had firmly rejected.

This marks the first confirmation that the Russian document, whose existence was first revealed by Reuters in October, served as a significant input into the 28-point plan.

“In the hopes of finalizing this Peace Plan, I have directed my Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with President Putin in Moscow and, at the same time, Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll will be meeting with the Ukrainians,” Trump wrote.

Why the administration relied on the Russian draft remains unclear. Several senior officials who reviewed it, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, believed Moscow’s demands would be unacceptable to Kiev, the sources said.

Wider context

Following the paper’s submission, Rubio held a call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in which the document was discussed, according to the sources. Speaking to reporters in Geneva this week, Rubio confirmed receiving “numerous written non-papers and things of this nature,” without offering further detail.

Since Axios first reported on the peace proposal last week, criticism has intensified across Washington. Many lawmakers and officials claim the framework reads more like a compilation of Russian positions than a genuine peace initiative. Still, the United States has privately warned Ukraine that military assistance could be scaled back if Kiev refuses to sign, the sources added.

The draft plan was at least partly shaped during a meeting in Miami last month between Jared Kushner, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Kirill Dmitriev, who heads one of Russia’s sovereign wealth funds. Two sources familiar with that encounter told Reuters that only a limited number of White House and State Department personnel were briefed on the discussion.

On Tuesday, Bloomberg reported that Witkoff had advised senior Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov on how Putin should approach Trump. According to call transcripts obtained by the outlet, Ushakov and Witkoff referenced a possible “20-point plan” as early as October 14; the proposal was later expanded through further conversations with Dmitriev.

Plan revised after global backlash

The US proposal, unexpected by officials in Washington and Europe, triggered rapid diplomacy across three continents. According to ABC News, nine of the original 28 points were removed during negotiations between American and Ukrainian officials.

A bipartisan group of senators said Saturday that Rubio had described the proposal as a Russian wish list, though the White House and State Department strongly denied that assertion.

Subsequent talks in Geneva saw a senior US delegation, including Rubio, agree with European and Ukrainian officials to revise or remove several of the "plan’s most Moscow-friendly elements."

Driscoll is now engaged in talks with a Russian delegation in Abu Dhabi, while Ukrainian officials are also in the UAE for separate meetings with the US team, an American official said.

Ukrainian officials said Tuesday they back the revised framework emerging from these discussions but emphasized that the most contentious provisions, especially territorial concessions, must ultimately be addressed in a potential meeting between Zelensky and Trump.

Kremlin: Witkoff to visit Moscow next week for Ukraine talks

In a related development, the Kremlin announced Wednesday that Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, along with several other senior US officials involved in Ukraine policy, is expected in Moscow next week for further negotiations.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Florida for the Thanksgiving holiday, Trump said US negotiators were making headway with both Russia and Ukraine, adding that Moscow had agreed to certain concessions. The emerging US-based peace framework has fueled concerns that Washington may pressure Kiev into accepting terms perceived as overly favorable to the Kremlin.

“As for Witkoff, I can say that a preliminary agreement has been reached that he will come to Moscow next week,” Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov told Russian state television journalist Pavel Zarubin. He added that several other US officials involved in Ukraine matters would also attend.

Ushakov claimed the recent leak of a phone call between senior Kremlin and US officials was intended to disrupt the negotiation process. Bloomberg earlier reported that in an October 14 call, Witkoff suggested he and Ushakov coordinate on a ceasefire plan for Ukraine and that Putin should raise the matter with Trump. The outlet said it had reviewed a recording and published a transcript of the conversation.

Asked about the motive behind the leak, Ushakov responded, “To hinder, probably. It is unlikely this was done to improve relations.” 

Moscow signals

On November 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Trump’s proposal “could form a basis for a final settlement in Ukraine.” While the Kremlin initially refrained from commenting on specific leaked provisions, Russian officials signaled clear approval of the broader framework, particularly the sections on territory, neutrality, and limits on Ukraine's armed forces.

With Washington now circulating a revised and less explicit version of the plan, analysts expect Moscow to continue endorsing the original 28-point draft and to oppose any changes that dilute recognition of Russian control over occupied regions or ease the restrictions proposed on Ukraine’s future military posture.

Read more: Trump's Ukraine plan needs more work: Macron