Two sources familiar with the meeting said that Ruslan Demchenko, Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, was also in Miami last week to discuss the plan with Whitkoff. An informed source said that Whitkoff informed Demchenko about the plan during that visit, and the United States presented the plan to Ukraine via the Turkish government last Wednesday before presenting it directly in Kyiv on Thursday. However, Demchenko described his role as 'technical' and denied discussing the substance of the plan with American officials. They also added that the special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, who had been working with the Ukrainians on negotiating an end to the war and plans to step down in January, was excluded from the talks led by Whitkoff and Demchenko. A senior U.S. official said that Secretary of State Marco Rubio was briefed on the plan, but did not specify when that happened. The plan includes demands that Russia had previously made, which are that Ukraine should cede some of its territory in the eastern part of the country, which it still controls, recognize the Crimean Peninsula as part of Russia, and commit not to join NATO. Kirill Dmitriev, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, played a leading role in the talks with the United States regarding the war and met with Whitkoff several times this year. A senior U.S. official told Reuters that the Trump administration had issued a special waiver to allow him entry. The U.S. government had placed Dmitriev and the Direct Investment Fund on the sanctions blacklist in 2022 after the outbreak of the war between Russia and Ukraine. Dmitriev and the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt said in a statement that any peace plan 'must provide security and deterrence guarantees for Ukraine, Europe, and Russia' and offer economic incentives to both Kyiv and Moscow. She added: 'This plan was crafted to reflect the realities of the situation and to find the best scenario where both sides win, and both sides gain more than they have to give.' Trump said the day before yesterday that he expects Zelensky to sign the plan by Thanksgiving. Several informed sources said that concern is growing among U.S. officials and lawmakers over a meeting held last month where representatives of President Donald Trump's administration met with Russian-sanctioned special envoy Kirill Dmitriev to draft a plan to end the war in Ukraine. The meeting was held in Miami at the end of October and was attended by U.S. Special Envoy Steve Whitkoff, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, and Dmitriev, who heads the Russian Direct Investment Fund, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in Russia. The plan, revealed by Axios last week, was a surprise to U.S. officials at all levels of the U.S. administration and caused confusion in the embassies in Washington and European capitals. It also drew criticism from Ukrainians and their allies because it appeared heavily skewed toward Russian interests, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky promised last Friday not to compromise Ukraine's interests. The document, which calls for Ukraine to make significant concessions, appears to contradict the tougher stance the Trump administration has recently taken toward Moscow, including imposing sanctions on Russia's energy sector. It was not clear whether Dmitriev brought any specific Russian demands to the Miami meeting and whether those demands were included in the peace plan. Reuters reported that the United States warned Ukraine that it could limit military aid if it does not sign the plan. The two sources familiar with the plan said that many senior officials at the State Department and on the National Security Council were not briefed on it. The sanctions effectively prevent U.S. citizens and companies from dealing with them. Two sources familiar with the plan said that the meeting led to a 28-point plan to end the war.
