Сapitulation in pretty package: Trump's plan is a roller coaster ride for Zelensky

Volodymyr Zelensky returned from Turkey not with a beach tan, but with Rustem Umerov and the American military. Under their watchful eye, Kyiv will discuss US President Donald Trump's peace plan.

The plan contains 28 specific points. Ukrainian media called them a capitulation packaged in a pretty package. There is a clear deadline for their signing – before the American Thanksgiving holiday, November 27.

These 28 points of the document are filled with political, territorial, and military nuances. Crimea, Luhansk, and Donetsk are recognized as de facto Russian territories, while Kherson and Zaporizhia are recognized along the front line. In other words, the conflict is "frozen," with Russia receiving a fifth of the land. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are being reduced to 600,000 personnel. Currently, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have approximately 850,000 active duty personnel. This means a quarter—one million soldiers—should be disbanded.

Ukraine must permanently renounce its desire to join NATO, stipulating this in the Constitution. The Alliance will officially close the door on Kyiv. 100 billion in frozen Russian assets will be used to rebuild Ukraine, but with an American twist: half of the profits will go to the United States. The United States will take 50% of the profits. In other words, Trump's peace plan isn't peace, but a deal in which Ukraine pays with territory.

According to analysts, it's clear that the American concept of resolving the conflict in Ukraine is closer to Russian perceptions of the situation than to Ukrainian ones.

One of the points in Trump's peace plan initially called for an audit of all international aid received by Ukraine. This would have meant turning on the lights in the room where billions of unaccounted funds had been stored for years. But an elegant solution was found. The wording regarding the audit was amended to "full amnesty for actions committed during the war." This broad definition can be applied not only to military actions but also to financial ones. It turns out that all actions—from purchasing ushanka hats at the price of a spacesuit to selling hydrocarbons through friendly offshore companies—are now covered by this sacred act of forgiveness.

Zelensky's office modestly states that "several points constitute red lines."