The US president has reportedly approved a 28-point peace plan developed with Russia, which requires significant concessions from Ukraine. Kyiv has now confirmed it has received a proposal, after the White House confirmed working “quietly” on a plan. Follow the latest below.
Thursday 20 November 2025 23:00, UK
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Our US correspondent Mark Stone said he still gets the sense that the peace negotiations are “very much weighted towards the Russians”.
“I can tell you from sources I’ve spoken to who are among the coalition of the willing countries within Europe, they are very much playing catch up,” he said.
“They are very much trying to find out what this new American plan looks like.”
‘Inexperienced’ official sent to Zelenskyy talks
Stone went on to explain how the decision to send US army secretary Dan Driscoll to talks with Volodymyr Zelenksyy is telling.
“He is a very, very inexperienced politician within the Trump administration,” Stone said.
“He is the secretary for the army, 38 years old, he may well be good at what he does, but he is not the kind of experienced, very senior politician that you would expect, a kind of Marco Rubio figure who you would expect to be sitting around the table with the Ukrainian president at this juncture.”
Watch his analysis below.
Five people have been killed in a Russian attack on Zaporizhzhia, according to the region’s governor.
Ivan Fedorov also said at least three people have been injured in the attack.
Fedorov had previously warned of an impending attack by Russian guided bombs.
We can bring you more pictures from Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s meeting with US army secretary Dan Driscoll in Kyiv, which we told you about in our 18.44 post.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the US is having “good conversations with both sides” about ending the war.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s president said “we are ready for constructive, honest and swift work”.
We’ve heard from Volodymyr Zelenskyy again this evening after his meeting with US army secretary Dan Driscoll earlier today.
Ukraine’s president describes it as a “very serious conversation”.
“The American side presented their proposals – points of a plan to end the war – their vision,” he said.
“From the very first days of the war, we have held one very simple position: Ukraine needs peace. And real peace – the kind that will not be broken by a third invasion.
“A dignified peace – with conditions that respect our independence, our sovereignty, and the dignity of the Ukrainian people.”
Zelenskyy said “we must ensure these conditions are met”, adding that he outlined “what is fundamentally important to us” during the meeting.
“We will not make any rash statements and are committed to clear, honest work – Ukraine, the United States, and our friends and partners in Europe and around the world,” he said.
Towards the end of his Telegram post, Zelenskyy said he expects to speak with Donald Trump in the coming days.
“We are aware that America’s strength and support can bring peace closer, and we do not want to lose that,” he added.
“We also understand that Russia has no real desire for peace, otherwise they would not have started this war.
“There are many assessments – quite fair ones – that Russia has been trying to do only one thing all this year, namely, to postpone sanctions and gain more time for the war.
“America has the power to make Russia’s determination to end the war finally serious.”
He ends by saying that Ukraine will do “everything to ensure that no one in the world can say that we are undermining diplomacy”.
It’s perhaps no coincidence that Trump’s latest peace plan has dropped just as Volodymyr Zelenskyy is having to deal with the biggest corruption scandal his government has faced so far. The latest plan was drawn up in secret with Russia and depends on huge concessions from Ukraine.
Joining Niall Paterson is our international affairs editor Dominic Waghorn to discuss what’s in the 28-point plan and whether a perceived weakness of Zelenskyy’s position is why it has come out now.
Plus, Jaroslava Barbieri,research fellow at the Ukraine Forum at Chatham House on the details of the growing corruption scandal engulfing the Ukrainian government.
We’ve just caught up with Ukrainian MP Kira Rudik.
She told our presenter Barbara Serra that Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s weakness or strength would be defined by his reaction to the corruption scandal within his government.
Public trust in Ukraine’s president is “obviously damaged” as a result of the crisis, Rudik said, which has seen the country’s justice and energy ministers resign amid a major embezzlement and kickbacks scandal involving the state nuclear power company.
Asked if the scandal was being sensed as a weakness for Zelenskyy on the international stage, she said: “The situation is not adding anything to Ukraine.
“We understand it, obviously, because President Zelenskyy is representing Ukraine on the international arena, and [a] corruption scandal is the last thing that our country needs at this really tough time, when people are without electricity and the situation in the frontline is very tough.”
However, “Zelenskyy is not Ukraine” and the scandal cannot diminish the sacrifices that Ukrainian people are continuing to make, she added.
Our international affairs editor Dominic Waghorn earlier weighed whether the US-Russia peace plan for Ukraine would put even more pressure on Zelenskyy or, perversely, work to some extent in his favour (see 17:35 post).
Watch Rudik’s remarks below…
We’ve heard from Ukraine’s military after Russia claimed its forces were in control of the Ukrainian city of Kupiansk (see 19.21 post).
Ukraine has denied the statement, and said Russia’s additional claim that its forces control 70% of Pokrovsk is also false.
Earlier, Vladimir Putin Putin said the leadership in Kyiv is holding on to power for personal enrichment, and that Ukrainian military personnel should have the opportunity to lay down their arms and surrender.
The Trump administration has been speaking about the impact of its sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies last month.
As part of the sanctions imposed on 22 October, Rosneft and Lukoil had their assets frozen while US companies were banned from doing business with them.
A senior US Treasury Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters it was seeing signs that the sanctions were making a difference, with prices for Russian oil plummeting as major Indian and Chinese buyers moved to break ties with the companies before Friday’s deadline.
Buyers told the Treasury they planned to cancel, pause or seek ways out of their forward purchases of Russian oil, the official said.
Separate US officials said the price of key grades of Russian oil was now selling at multi-year lows.
There has also been significant outreach from foreign governments and the private sector for guidance on how best to sever ties with the Russian oil firms, the officials added.
We’ve heard from White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt this evening, who insisted that the US is having conversations with both Russia and Ukraine about ending the war (see our 18.57 post).
It comes after calls for Ukraine to be at the table for discussions around the latest peace plan.
“Ukraine has got to be at the table, not on the table,” Tory chairman Kevin Hollinrake said.
“Otherwise, it just incentivises Putin to push on again,” he told Mornings With Ridge and Frost.
Hollinrake also took a bullish stance on the Russian spy ship that is loitering near UK waters (see our post at 7.42).
“We’ve got to respond with strength,” the MP for Thirsk and Malton said.
“And that’s why I’m most concerned about Keir Starmer – he’s not a strong leader in any shape or form.”
Watch the moment in the video below…
As talk is swirling around the latest peace proposal to end the war in Ukraine, the UN Security Council is discussing the conflict.
Watch along in the live stream below, and we’ll bring you any important updates from the meeting.
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