Last weekend, representatives of the United States and Ukraine met in Geneva for talks that the White House said were “very productive.”
Now on the table is a draft 28-point plan that represents a solid business deal for Ukraine. This plan is not a victory for Russian President Vladimir Putin. He didn’t get Ukraine or eliminate President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“Something good can happen,” President Donald Trump said Monday morning.
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The loss of territory in the Donbas region is painful and tragic. Unfortunately, Russia still has enough missiles to bombard Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure for years. It is a daily humanitarian disaster.
This war must end – also in America’s interests. Since 2022, it has unleashed global geopolitical chaos, with China financing Russia’s invasion and Putin reportedly trading nuclear weapons design secrets for North Korean ammunition and soldiers.
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The determined and diplomatic special envoy Witkoff has been working on this proposal since this spring, together with the Russian financier Kirill Dmitriev, who has the cold eye of an extra from ‘Yellowstone’. Ignore the diplomatic face-saving – such as the talk that Ukraine is not focusing on Moscow and St. Petersburg. Whatever. Here are five strengths in the Witkoff plan.
1. Prosperity for Ukraine
The best part of this plan is the potential beginning of prosperity for Ukraine, starting with immediate access to the European Union. Ukraine would share electricity from the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, under the control of the IAEA. The grain transport routes along the rivers and the Black Sea would be secured.
It’s not in the plan, but with peace comes the prospect of major American technology investments. How about an AI data center in Lviv? Ukraine could prosper.
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2. A large army
An army of 600,000 men should be sufficient. Britain has a total of 181,000, and Poland – Europe’s superpower – has 216,000 in uniform. Of course, Ukraine will need hundreds of American M1 Abrams tanks to form a mobile, deterrent barrier that can stop Russia in the future.
It goes without saying that Ukraine must maintain its enormous air defenses. NATO, the United States, and American companies already provide Ukraine with significant cyber and space power.
Remember that NATO was always numerically outnumbered by the Warsaw Pact during the Cold War. The strategy then relied on precision and mobility to counter a Soviet ground attack – and it worked. Also send more American tanks to Poland, so that there are no flank options through Belarus or the Baltic states.
3. Air Force
European fighter jets based in Poland (according to point 9) are close enough to swoop in if Russia attacks again. There is no limit on the number of F-35s rotating through Poland. Air power remains the best defense against renewed invasion and a bulwark against cruise missile attacks.
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One day, Ukraine should have its own fleet of F-35s to help with mobile ground defense and intercept cruise missiles – although the line at the F-35 factory is currently quite long.
4. Catnip for Putin
There is plenty to like for Putin. He may rejoin the G8 club, despite Russia’s small economy. The plan includes sanctions relief and ‘re-integration’ into the global market – which is essential to weaken Moscow’s dependence on Beijing.
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5. Frozen Russian assets
Euroclear Bank in Belgium and other banks hold an estimated $300 billion in frozen Russian assets. The Witkoff plan would divert some of that money to Ukraine – a move that is sure to roil Europe because of the implications of banking regulations and lost interest income.
Unfortunately, European negotiators watered down Witkoff’s plan this weekend. How dare they? Which wars has the European Union solved recently? The bureaucratic ‘editing’ of the 28-point plan was laughable, especially the part that postponed Ukraine’s EU membership.
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While Britain, France, Germany and others remain strong allies and bilateral partners, the EU’s bureaucratic mentality has long failed Ukraine. Europe cannot solve this war.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy takes part in a briefing at the President’s office after a staff meeting in Kiev, Ukraine, on November 7, 2025. (Pavlo Bahmut/Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Personally, I would like to see every Russian out of Ukraine, including Crimea. When President Joe Biden held off NATO air power before the invasion and then watched Russia dig three belts of minefields across Kherson in late 2022, the tactical problem became much more complicated.
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Everyone has a price, as the saying goes in real estate. Finding the prize for Putin – short of restoring imperial Russia – has proven virtually impossible, especially with China offering “unlimited friendship” and supplying illegal defense microelectronics.
Putin has a penchant for war, and defense production helps him stay in power. After the war, as the reality of a million Russian victims sinks in, Putin could become a vassal of Xi Jinping. Or he can take this deal.
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