The United States is poised to recognise Russia’s control over Crimea and other occupied Ukrainian territories as part of a peace plan to end the war in Ukraine, with President Donald Trump dispatching envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner to Moscow to present the proposal to Vladimir Putin.
The plan, which breaks longstanding US diplomatic convention, includes “de facto” recognition of Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Russian-held areas of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia following a ceasefire, despite sharp opposition from European allies who insist borders must not be changed by force and warnings from Kyiv that it cannot legally surrender territory without a referendum.
Ukrainian chief of staff Andriy Yermak, who was involved in the negotiations before resigning, said: “Not a single sane person today would sign a document to give up territory… As long as Zelensky is president, no one should count on us giving up territory. He will not sign away territory… The constitution prohibits this. Nobody can do that unless they want to go against the Ukrainian constitution and the Ukrainian people,” while the White House insisted any reports remain speculative, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt stating: “The United States continues to have robust discussions with the Russians and Ukrainians. Any reporting about these sensitive diplomatic conversations should be deemed speculative until it comes directly from the president or his national security team.”