Ukraine has moved past the 28-point draft plan to end the war with Russia and is pushing for a better deal now that the battlefield conditions have changed, officials told The Post.
Ahead of a critical sit-down between President Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday at the NATO summit, Kyiv is shifting away from a specific US-backed peace framework and toward convincing Trump that Ukraine still holds key leverage in the fight.
There are no plans for a US-Ukraine-Russia summit and no structured discussions around a specific peace agreement – a change from last year when active talks were underway, Ukraine officials say.
The absence of negotiations has allowed Ukraine to improve its footing and “gives us reason to think more creatively about ending the war,” Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Olha Stefanishyna told The Post.
Ukrainian officials see Trump’s growing frustration with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin as an opportunity to pressure the Kremlin to stop its war.
“Ukraine has always been ready for substantial diplomatic engagement and remains committed to achieving a just and lasting peace,” Stefanishyna said. “Unfortunately, the Russian leader has shown no genuine interest in ending the war.”
Ukrainian officials believe ending the conflict will require changing the balance of pressure on Moscow rather than negotiating another version of the same peace proposal.
“A cease-fire doesn’t have to come from endlessly debating a single peace plan. There are other paths forward, and I hope Presidents Trump and Zelensky will discuss those opportunities at the NATO summit,” Stefanishyna said.
Zelensky and his NATO allies have spent recent weeks trying to demonstrate to Trump that Ukraine has leverage beyond the battlefield, including its combat experience, intelligence capabilities and role in European security.
The effort comes as Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with Moscow after months of diplomatic efforts failed to produce a breakthrough.
The president on Monday said an end to the war could be “closer than people realize,” with both Putin and Zelensky telling him they want to stop the conflict.
“We’re going to be going to NATO, and we’re going to be talking about it, and I think we’re going to get it,” he told reporters. “I think we’re going to get it ended. It’s been a terrible situation.”
The administration has also increasingly acknowledged Ukraine’s military position, with Vice President JD Vance arguing Monday that Russia’s offensive has largely stalled — a dynamic Kyiv hopes will strengthen Trump’s hand in pressing Moscow.
“Frankly, the Russians are in a place right now where the amount that they can get through continued [Russian] offensive operations is vanishingly small — and getting close to zero,” he told The Times of London. “That very well may create the space that we need to bring this thing to a close.”
Stefanishyna said the administration’s view of Russia has shifted after multiple attempts to engage Moscow failed to produce meaningful progress.
Russia in November pushed a US-backed 28-point peace plan, which was widely criticized as caving too much to Moscow’s maximalist goals. That sparked two months of intensive diplomacy, with American negotiators meeting with both Moscow and Kyiv to whittle down the proposal into an acceptable document.
But the talks went nowhere, as Russia refused to back down from its original demands, and ultimately stalled out in January after the US and Israel launched their war on Iran the following month.
“President Trump has a much clearer understanding of Russia than he did at the start of his presidency,” Stefanishyna said. “Since taking office, he has opened multiple opportunities for Moscow, including different diplomatic formats built around Russian promises. The lack of meaningful progress has made Russia’s intentions much clearer and has shaped the approach to future relations.”
A second Ukrainian official told The Post that Washington now recognizes that Moscow is not seriously negotiating an end to the war.
Ukraine “doesn’t see any real engagement from the Russian side in discussing any plans to end the war,” the official said.
The official said the focus should now shift toward “new pressure tactics” designed to force Moscow to reconsider its position.
The seeds were planted at last month’s G7 summit, where leaders sought “consensus on increasing the pressure on Russia” so Moscow would return to the negotiating table, a European official told The Post.
European leaders also urged Trump to view Ukraine as a strategic asset rather than a liability, the official said.
Their lobbying efforts extended beyond the formal talks, as well, with each leader presenting Trump with a birthday gift during a private dinner on the sidelines of the summit — which took place just after the president’s 80th birthday.
As the summit concluded, Trump echoed calls for Moscow to reach an agreement.
“Russia should make a deal. Russia has lost tremendous amounts of people, so has Ukraine,” Trump said.
Stefanishyna said Russia only renewed interest in talks after Western allies increased pressure on Moscow at the G7 summit, but expressed disappointment that a meeting never came to fruition.
“Following the successful G7 summit in Évian, Russia suddenly revived its invitation for Steve Witkoff to visit, seeking follow-up talks after the discussions with European leaders,” she said.
While that outreach has yet to produce concrete progress, Ukrainian officials believe it demonstrates that sustained Western pressure can influence Moscow’s calculations.
Beyond ending the war, Zelensky also plans to make the case to Trump that Ukraine has become indispensable to NATO’s long-term security.
“President Trump has pushed NATO for years to contribute more to their defense budgets,” Stefanishyna said. “Meanwhile, we spend 63 percent of our budget on defense, have the strongest military in Europe and critical experience in modern warfare that the alliance needs.”
“We’re ready to join, and feel NATO and global security isn’t really possible without Ukraine anymore,” she added.
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