And if the bully’s name is Vladimir Putin, you might just as well hand him the keys to the kingdom, because there will be no stopping him now.

Some details of the 28-point peace proposal masterminded by Donald Trump and his hand-picked “Russia experts,” Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff, have been leaked to the public, though not yet through official channels; and as expected (and feared), it gives Putin virtually everything he has been demanding from day one, with very little in the way of concessions on his part.

But here are the basics (all data and quotes are from an article by Matthew Chance and Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, November 21, 2025):

Points 1 and 2 state that Ukraine’s sovereignty will be confirmed, and that a comprehensive non-aggression agreement will be concluded among Russia, Ukraine, and Europe. So far, so good.

Point 3, as reported by CNN, says: “It is expected that Russia will not invade neighbouring countries and NATO will not expand further.”

This expectation is not what one would call reassuring, considering Russia’s centuries-long history of broken pledges. And as for NATO’s non-expansion, that would of course require the consent of NATO itself. But these are, at present, just talking points. So, moving on . . .

Point 4 provides for a dialogue to be held between Russia and NATO, mediated by the U.S. (again omitting Europe, which will be a problem), to resolve security issues, de-escalation, and opportunities for future economic cooperation and development.

Point 5 says that Ukraine will receive reliable security guarantees; but Point 6 follows up with a limitation on the size of Ukraine’s armed forces to 600,000 personnel.

Point 7 wants Ukraine to enshrine the pledge not to join NATO in its constitution, and NATO to include a provision in its statutes guaranteeing that Ukraine will never be admitted.

This is a big win for Putin. And, again, it would require the approval by all NATO members.

Point 8: NATO is to agree not to station its troops in Ukraine.

Point 9: For some inexplicable reason, this one states that European fighter jets will be stationed in Poland.

It’s not clear what this is supposed to accomplish, or who is expected to benefit from it: Poland, Ukraine, or all of Europe. Or, in fact, why it’s mentioned at all in view of the fact that European jets are already based in Poland because Poland is . . . guess what! . . . part of Europe, and yeah, they have jets. But the drafters of the proposal are clearly not into history or geography, and I predict that when this reaches Putin’s desk — and after he stops laughing — it will be scratched.

Point 10: This is headed “US guarantee,” and contains four bullet points. The first grants compensation to the US for proffering the security guarantees, and the other three involve penalties in the event either side invades the other.

Always good for a chuckle, the Trump Team added this very specific caveat: “If Ukraine launches a missile at Moscow or St. Petersburg without cause, the security guarantee will be deemed invalid.” Inasmuch as the second bullet point already covered any invasion of Russia by Ukraine, this additional provision makes one wonder whether Moscow and St. Petersburg are planning to secede from the Russian Federation and declare their independence. But I digress.

Points 11 and 12: At last, some benefits for Ukraine: eligibility for EU membership, and a global package of provisions for the rebuilding of the country, which includes US cooperation and a “special financing package” to be developed by the World Bank.

Point 13: Uh-oh! Here’s where Putin really begins to collect his rewards for having waged an illegal war of attrition against a sovereign nation and committed countless crimes against humanity for four years. This provision states that “Russia will be reintegrated into the global economy [and] invited to rejoin the G8.”

It also — and the fine hand of Donald Trump is in plain view here — says that the US “will enter into a long-term economic agreement [with Russia] for mutual development in the areas of energy, natural resources, infrastructure, artificial intelligence, data centres, rare earth metal extraction projects in the Arctic, and other mutually beneficial corporate opportunities.”

Ah, the intoxicating smell of money!

Point 14: I’m wondering whether this point envisions construction of a Trump Tower in Donetsk or Luhansk (just kidding). Seriously, though, it does provide for $100 billion of the currently frozen Russian assets to be invested in “US-led efforts to rebuild and invest in Ukraine,” with Europe to add another $100 billion to reconstruction.

That would certainly be an excellent use of those frozen Russian assets, and a reliable means of ensuring that Russia is forced to make reparations. But then it goes on to say that the US “will receive 50% of the profits from this venture.” Excuse me? What profits? They’re supposed to be rebuilding a demolished country, not planning another gold-plated Trump resort. Clearly, these guys did not utilize the Marshall Plan as a model for their proposal.

*. *. *

This article is turning into another War and Peace, so I’ll try to compact some of the next items:

Points 15-19 deal with security issues and non-proliferation, and the supervision of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant.

Point 20 is important in light of the ongoing forced “re-education” of Ukrainian children in the Russian-occupied territories. It would provide for both countries to “implement educational programmes in schools and society aimed at promoting understanding and tolerance of different cultures and eliminating racism and prejudice,” and would further “guarantee the rights of Ukrainian and Russian media and education.”

Does that mean that all of the journalists and others who have been imprisoned for their criticism of the war or of the Putin regime in general would be pardoned and released? Or am I dreaming?

And amusingly, Point 20 also provides that “All Nazi ideology and activities must be rejected and prohibited.” This one is obviously another gift to Putin, who has consistently (and baselessly) claimed that one of the principal goals of his “special military operation” in Ukraine has been to rescue the Ukrainian people from their alleged Nazi-led government.

Point 21 promises to be a sticking point, as it concerns allocation of Ukrainian territories, effectively giving Putin everything he has been relentlessly demanding and Ukraine has been refusing to consider: all Russian-occupied regions of Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk to be recognized as de facto Russian; freezing of the line of contact in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, again amounting to de facto recognition as Russian territory; and withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the part of Donetsk Oblast currently controlled by Ukraine so that the zone will then be deemed a neutral demilitarized buffer zone internationally recognized as territory belonging to Russia.

In other words, a classic land grab.

Points 22-23 are more-or-less boilerplate statements of future enforcement procedures and guarantees.

Point 24 involves the establishment of a humanitarian committee “to resolve outstanding issues,” including the all-important exchange of remaining prisoners and bodies; the return of all civilian detainees and hostages, including children (nearly 20,000 at last count); and a family reunification program.

This one, I love.

Point 25: Trump is trying to force on Zelensky something he would never accept for himself: a requirement that Ukraine hold new presidential elections within 100 days of the signing of a peace agreement.

While Ukraine has, under the provisions of its Constitution, postponed the previously-scheduled election while the country remained under martial law, it will be required to set new elections following the cessation of hostilities. However, allowing such a short window for demobilization, electoral reform, campaigning, and economic stabilization prior to any election “will result in a government lacking in a proper mandate, or suborned to a Russian influence campaign — which is exactly what Moscow wants.” [Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, November 21, 2025.]

Point 26 provides for full amnesty for all parties for their actions (i.e., war crimes) during the war. This clearly benefits Russia in view of the outstanding ICC criminal warrant against Putin and other Russians.

Point 27: Implementation of the agreement is to be monitored and guaranteed by a Peace Council headed by — drum roll, please — Donald Trump.

While not specified, presumably the Council would include representatives of a number of European countries as well.

And finally . . .

Point 28: Once an agreement has been reached and signed, a ceasefire will take immediate effect . . . “after both sides retreat to agreed points to begin implementation of the agreement.”

I would hope for a more specific provision on the time frame for reaching full agreement, in order to prevent Putin’s stalling the ceasefire in order to continue his attacks on Ukraine in the interim. Although, with the enormous trade opportunities and international rehabilitation being offered him, he might be more inclined to fast-track this one.

*. *. *

And there you have it, in somewhat abbreviated form: a rundown of the Trump administration’s proposal for ending Russia’s war against Ukraine. Questions have already been raised — in Ukraine, in Europe, and in the U.S. — as to the origin of what is being referred to as Putin’s “wish list” . . . whether it was actually the product of talks between U.S. and Russian officials. And Trump is once again calling Zelensky ungrateful for the effort.

But that is a subject for another day.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
11/23/25