In late October, Trump administration officials met with Kirill Dmitriev, a sanctioned Russian envoy, in Miami to draft a peace proposal aimed at ending the Ukraine conflict.
Attending were Jared Kushner, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Dmitriev, who heads the Russian Direct Investment Fund. Dmitriev was given a rare U.S. entry waiver despite sanctions.
The meeting produced a 28-point plan advocating significant territorial concessions from Ukraine, including relinquishing control over eastern regions like Donbas, recognising Crimea as Russian, and forbidding Ukraine from joining NATO.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy firmly rejected these terms, pledging to protect his country’s sovereignty.
Ukrainian official Rustem Umerov later discussed the plan with Witkoff in Miami; though he described his role as technical, the plan was subsequently shared with Kyiv through Turkish intermediaries.
The White House insists any peace deal must ensure security guarantees and economic incentives for both sides. However, many senior U.S. officials, including Special Envoy Keith Kellogg and possibly Secretary of State Marco Rubio, were excluded from the plan’s development. Lawmakers expressed scepticism, warning the proposal dangerously favours Russian demands and pressures Ukraine to cede land to its aggressor.
Dmitriev’s involvement raises intelligence concerns given his past dealings with the West, including collaboration with Kushner during the pandemic to provide ventilators, amid ongoing sanctions.
He has actively promoted closer U.S.-Russia trade ties, recently meeting U.S. Representative Anna Luna in Miami. The venue was the Faena Hotel, linked to Access Industries, a company with historic connections to Russian oligarchs.
The plan, which freezes much of the conflict’s territorial status quo while calling for security guarantees against future Russian aggression and phased sanction relief, has sparked debate over its feasibility and fairness.
The Trump administration expects Ukraine to approve the deal by Thanksgiving but has warned military aid could be reduced otherwise. Meanwhile, Zelenskyy continues consultations with international partners to safeguard Ukraine’s future.