In a sharply worded joint statement released this weekend, ranking members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee have made it clear: they do not support the so-called 28-point peace plan being advanced by the Trump administration.
The plan offered to the Ukrainians this week would require Kyiv to make significant concessions to Vladimir Putin’s Russia as part of a settlement of the war.
The statement, issued by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Ranking Member of the committee, together with Senators Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Peter Welch, D-Vt, Chris Coons, D-Del., and Angus King, I-Maine, voiced “significant concerns over the details of the reported peace plan that has been released.”
The statement said:
“For over 10 years, Russia has illegally occupied Ukrainian territory and for almost 4 years, Ukraine has admirably defended itself against Russia’s attempts to fully occupy Ukraine. No one wants a just and lasting peace more than the Ukrainian people.
“However, we will not achieve that lasting peace by offering Putin concession after concession and fatally degrading Ukraine’s ability to defend itself.
"History teaches us that Putin only understands strength and will not abide by any agreement unless it is backed by force. We must consult closely with our Ukrainian and NATO partners on the path forward. We should put real pressure on Russia to come to the negotiating table. And we must make clear to the Kremlin — and would-be aggressors in Beijing — that America will stand unwaveringly in defense of freedom.”
In short, the bipartisan group asserts that the plan in question would weaken Ukraine’s defense position, reward Russian aggression rather than deter it, and undermine the credibility of U.S. commitments to its allies.
Criticism of the administration’s approach is not limited to Democrats.
Even among Republicans there is rising concern that the plan represents an appeasement of Russia after its “unprovoked” attack on Ukraine — a war that has cost over 1 million casualties, by many estimates.
The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Roger Wicker, R-Miss., publicly slammed the proposal, calling it “dangerous” and warning that any deal which fails to maintain Ukraine’s ability to defend itself would “embolden Moscow and invite further aggression.”
Another flash-point: confusion over the authorship of the peace plan itself.
Several senators say that on a phone call earlier this week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told multiple senators that the 28-point document was in fact authored by the Russians and presented to Ukraine — and that US officials merely passed it along.
According to those senators, Rubio described it as “a Russian wish-list” masquerading as a peace framework.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials assert that American representatives in Kyiv this week presented the plan to them, effectively drawing a “take-it-or-leave-it” line.
According to the Ukrainians, U.S. envoys said that if Ukraine does not accept the 28 points, the U.S. would “immediately cut off” certain military aid and intelligence sharing streams.
The timing and substance of that message has triggered alarm among U.S. lawmakers who view it as a coercive maneuver that sidelines Ukraine’s sovereignty and places Washington’s leverage behind Russian demands.
Moreover, senior Republicans argue that by signalling a willingness to cut aid if Ukraine refuses, the administration is eroding America’s credibility with allies — not just in Eastern Europe, but globally.
Those allies mat now balk at trusting U.S. commitments if they suspect the White House may pull back at a moment of need.
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