Vladimir Putin greets Donald Trump’s envoy, real estate developer Steve Witkoff, in the Kremlin, Moscow, Russia, April 25, 2025 (Kristina Kormilitsyna/AFP/Getty)

EA on International Outlets: Ukraine and Europe Counter Trump-Kremlin Ultimatum

Tuesday’s Coverage: Russia Strikes Kill 7, Injure 21 in Kyiv

UPDATE 1608 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has said after a conversation with European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen, “We see eye to eye: as long as Russia continues to rebuff all peace efforts, sanctions against it must be tightened, and defense and financial assistance for Ukraine must continue.”

The two discussed “the current diplomatic situation” amid the European counter-proposal to the Trump-Kremlin ultimatum.

UPDATE 1424 GMT:

Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov, who colluded with Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff on the 28-point “plan” that now faces a European counter-proposal, has said, “Some aspects can be viewed positively, but many require special discussions among experts.

UPDATE 1231 GMT:

Vladimir Putin’s top economic advisor Kirill Dmitriev, trying to contain the fallout over revelation of his collusion with Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, posts a defiant image of Trump:

UPDATE 1018 GMT:

The Kremlin continues its confusing maneuvers, apparently trying to push back a European counter-proposal to its 28-point “plan”.

Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov, who has been colluding with Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, said proposals were not discussed in Abu Dhabi on Monday and Tuesday.

US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, an ally of Vice President J.D. Vance, met Ukrainian and Russian delegations in the UAE.

“No, the peace plan was not discussed in Abu Dhabi. The peace plan has not yet been discussed in detail with anyone,” Ushakov said.

Ushakov said Russia has “the latest version” of the purported Trump Administration proposal.

He snapped,“The Europeans meddling in all these affairs is, as I see it, completely unnecessary.”

UPDATE 1007 GMT:

Addressing the European Parliament, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has noted last week’s Russian attack on Ternopil in western Ukraine which murdered 34 civilians, including six children, and wounded almost 100 others.

Over more than three and a half years into this war of aggression, this is the daily reality on the ground, and it shows that we can never lose sight of what Ukraine is sacrificing, what Ukraine is fighting for, its security, its freedom, its independence, because ultimately, this is what is at stake.

Von der Leyen emphasized, “Europe will stand with Ukraine and support Ukraine every step of the way” amid Russia’s escalating attacks.

From the start, Russia has always believed that they can outlast Ukraine, Europe and all of its allies. And it is why, every time there is serious progress towards negotiations that can bring about a real peace, the violence escalates. We have seen this before. This is a pattern, and the noises from the Kremlin in the last few days say a lot about its real intentions.

For them, Ukraine remains a first step in a much bigger game for Russia. Any peace deal is about permanently redrawing maps; it is about returning to great power relations and spheres of influence.

But for Ukraine and for Europe, any peace agreement is about creating a just and lasting peace, peace that stops this conflict and does not sow the seeds for new future conflicts.

Commenting on the maneuvers to end Russia’s invasion, she hailed the European counter-proposal to the Trump-Kremlin ultimatum as “a starting point” for “a just and lasting peace” and “real security for Ukraine and Europe” with no limitation on Ukrainian armed forces.

She stressed, “We need to be clear that there cannot be unilateral carving up of a sovereign European nation, and that borders cannot be changed by force. If today we legitimize and formalize the undermining of borders, we open the doors for more wars tomorrow, and we cannot let this happen.”

UPDATE 1001 GMT:

Vladimir Putin has decreed that his officials must consolidate the Russian language and identity in parts of Ukraine occupied by Moscow’s invasion.

The “Strategy of Russia’s National Policy in the Period to 2036” demands that 95% of the population identify as Russian within the next 11 years.

UPDATE 0959 GMT:

At least 19 civilians were wounded by a Russian mass drone attack on Zaporizhzhia city in southern Ukraine late Tuesday.

The assaults destroyed shops and damaged 31 apartment blocks, 20 homes, other buildings, and cars.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Donald Trump’s envoy, real estate developer Steve Witkoff, told the Kremlin last month that Russia can have all of the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.

Last month, as Ukrainian forces continued to hold 22% of the region — the strategic, fortified area guarding the “highway to Kyiv” — in the face of Russia’s 46-month invasion, Witkoff made the offer to Vladimir Putin’s top foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov.

In a recording of the call, Witkoff advises Ushakov to congratulate Trump and frame discussions more optimistically.

Now, me to you, I know what it’s going to take to get a peace deal done: Donetsk and maybe a land swap somewhere.

But I’m saying instead of talking like that, let’s talk more hopefully because I think we’re going to get to a deal here.

With the Kremlin facing US sanctions and the threat of American cruise missiles being sent to Ukraine for strikes inside Russia, Witkoff suggested a Putin call to Trump.

I would make the call and just reiterate that you congratulate the President on his achievement, that you supported it. That you respect he is a man of peace.

Witkoff emphasized his pro-Kremlin line in Washington:

I told the President…that the Russian Federation has always wanted a peace deal. That’s my belief….

The issue is that we have two nations that are having a hard time coming to a compromise….Maybe just say this to President Putin, because you know I have the deepest respect for President Putin.

The real estate developer said the Kremlin had to get to Trump before Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the White House that week.

Two days later, Putin made the call to Trump. The conversation included the desire for all of Donetsk in the conversation.

And the day after that, in a heated White House meeting with Zelensky, Witkoff said Ukraine should withdraw from the area because many of the residents speak Russian.

Zelensky politely rejected the proposal. Despite a profanity-laced rant and a refusal to send the Tomahawks, Trump said the invasion should be frozen on the current frontlines.

The Kremlin and Witkoff persisted. A week after the White House encounter, Vladimir Putin’s senior economic advisor Kirill Dmitriev saw the envoy in Miami, Florida. The two men developed a Kremlin proposal from the spring which included the handover of Donetsk.

The provision was included in a 28-point “plan”, presented as Trump’s initiative, to be imposed on Ukraine last weekend. Kyiv and its European partners have pushed back with a counter-proposal — a ceasefire on current frontlines is to be established first, then provisions for a long-term settlement can be confirmed.

Kremlin Gets “Maximum” Demands in US “Plan”

In the call with Ushakov, Witkoff put Russia’s draft from the spring into the context of the ceasefire of Israel’s mass killings in Gaza, announced the previous week: “We put a 20-point Trump plan together that was 20 points for peace and I’m thinking maybe we do the same thing with you.”

Ushakov responded that Putin would “congratulate” the White House and say, “Mr Trump is a real peace man.”

On October 29, Putin’s economic advisor Dmitriev briefed Ushakov on his discussions with Witkoff in Miami. He confirmed that he would pass the Kremlin’s maximalist demands to the Americans, who would put them into their “plan”.

Ushakov reinforced, “Well, we need the maximum, don’t you think? …Otherwise, what’s the point of passing anything on.”

Dmitriev assured:

I think we’ll just make this paper from our position, and I’ll informally pass it along, making it clear that it’s all informal. And let them do [it] like their own….

I don’t think they’ll take exactly our version, but at least it’ll be as close to it as possible.

Ushakov worried, “They might twist it later. There is that risk.”

Dmitriev replied, “It seems to me you can talk later with Steve [Witkoff] about this paper. We will do everything neatly.”

Witkoff Visits The Kremlin Next Week

Ushakov confirmed the discussion with Witkoff on Wednesday, telling State TV that the leak was an attempt to “hinder” talks.

“As for Witkoff, I can say that a preliminary agreement has been reached that he will come to Moscow next week,” he added.

Trump defended Witkoff’s collusion with the Kremlin as “standard” negotiating procedure.

“He’s got to sell this to Ukraine. He’s got to sell Ukraine to Russia,” Trump told reporters onboard Air Force One on Tuesday night. “That’s what a dealmaker does.”

The reality TV star confirmed that Witkoff is travelling to Moscow “next week”, and said that his son-in-law Jared Kushner — also involved in the development of the “plan” with the Kremlin in late October — may also go. US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, an ally of Vice President J.D. Vance who has been meeting Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Abu Dhabi, will go to Kyiv.

“I look forward to hopefully meeting with President Zelenskyy and President Putin soon, but ONLY when the deal to end this War is FINAL or, in its final stages,” Trump posted.

He implicitly endorsed Russia’s seizure of all of Donetsk: “The way it’s going, if you look, it’s just moving in one direction. So eventually that’s land that over the next couple of months might be gotten by Russia anyway.”