As Kyiv is signaling it might agree to a peace deal (with only “minor details” to be sorted out), one might have hoped for a fresh start in resolving the protracted Ukraine conflict. Instead, Europe is once again playing the role of spoiler.

The 28-point peace plan advanced by the US and now under active negotiation, in fact offers a pragmatic path to de-escalation — one that balances security concerns on both sides while funneling resources toward reconstruction. Yet key European leaders are already working to undermine it, pushing unattainable goals that risk protracting the conflict. This isn’t just shortsighted; it’s a blatant repeat of past blunders that have prolonged the crisis.

The plan has real merits, even if it’s far from perfect. As Mark Episkopo and Marcus Stanley (both Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft scholars) point out, at its core, it envisions a Ukrainian army capped at 600,000 troops — a size analysts agree Kyiv can realistically sustain without collapsing under economic strain. This is more than double what Ukraine sought in early 2022 talks and nearly eight times Russia’s initial demand.

On the thorniest issue of territory, the proposal calls for Ukraine to withdraw from just 1% of its 1991 borders: unconquered areas in Donetsk oblast. Crucially, this sliver would become a demilitarized zone, not Moscow-occupied land, leaving Kyiv in control of about 80% of its pre-2014 territory.

Moreover, Russia even drops its claims on other annexed regions like Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, and there’s no forced de jure........

© Blitz