US and Ukrainian delegations reportedly narrowed down the initial US-proposed 28-point peace plan to 19 points.[1] An official briefed on the negotiations told the Washington Post that the peace plan to end Russia’s war in Ukraine now has 19 points and is based on the original US proposal, but that US and Ukrainian delegations have not yet agreed upon the final number of points.[2] Oleksandr Bevz, advisor to Ukrainian Presidential Office Head Andriy Yermak, stated that Ukrainian and US negotiators agreed to remove points unrelated to Ukraine, such as those regarding US-Russian bilateral engagement and those involving Europe.[3] Bevz stated that Ukrainian and US negotiators also agreed to resolve issues about Ukraine’s accession to NATO based on NATO’s consensus decision-making structure.[4] Bevz stated that Ukrainian negotiators clarified to US officials that Ukraine is willing to start discussions about territory from the current frontline and does not want to engage with Russian offers to swap territory. People familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that European officials noted that the most recent version of the peace plan no longer includes proposals for roughly $100 billion in frozen Russian assets to go toward US-led efforts to rebuild Ukraine.[5] Ukrainian news agency RBK-Ukraine reported, citing unspecified sources, that the delegations adjusted a significant number of issues, such as those related to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), the size of the Ukrainian military, and prisoner of war (POW) and prisoner exchanges.[6] RBK-Ukraine’s sources reportedly stated that the delegations agreed that US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should discuss and agree upon points related to territorial issues and Ukraine’s accession into NATO. Sources told RBK-Ukraine that the United States will work with Ukraine to agree on the final points of the plan before engaging with European partners on points that directly concern Europe.[7] The sources reportedly stated that the United States will then use “carrots and sticks” to convince Russia of the plan.
The persistent Russian rate of advance does not indicate that Russian forces will imminently seize the rest of Donetsk Oblast. CBS reported on November 23 that a US official stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin believes that he will take all of Donetsk Oblast “one way or another” either through a negotiated settlement or military means.[8] The Kremlin has been doubling down on spreading the false narrative that a Russian victory is inevitable, such that Ukraine and the West should immediately acquiesce to Russian demands.[9] Russia’s imminent seizure of the rest of Donetsk Oblast is not guaranteed, as Russia’s rate of advance has been constrained to a foot pace – even in the past three months when Russian forces have been making relatively quicker gains on the battlefield.[10] ISW continues to assess that the Russian effort to seize Donetsk Oblast will be a yearslong battle that would cost Russia significant amounts of manpower and materiel.[11] Russian forces have not shown an ability to seize large population centers like those in the Fortress Belt – the backbone of Ukrainian defenses in Donetsk Oblast – since 2022 and have tried and failed to seize the Fortress Belt itself since 2014.
Russian officials and ultranationalist voices continue rejecting the original and revised US-proposed peace plan drafts and are attempting to portray Europe as responsible for the Russian rejection. Russian officials and ultranationalist voices have been rejecting the 28-point US peace plan since it was first reported in mid-November 2025 because the proposed plan did not concede to all of Russia’s absolutist war demands.[12] Russian officials and ultranationalist voices are simultaneously misrepresenting revisions to the original plan and European involvement as undermining the peace process, likely in an effort to deflect from Russia’s own rejection of the deal. Kremlin Presidential Aide Yuriy Ushakov stated on November 24 that the European version of the peace proposal is unacceptable for Russia, and Russian State Duma International Affairs Committee Chairperson Leonid Slutsky claimed that the European proposal would only continue the war.[13] Duma International Affairs Committee Deputy Chairperson Svetlana Zhurova claimed that continued US changes to the peace plan will “drag on” the negotiations “endlessly.”[14] Zhurova claimed that the only two relevant negotiating parties are Russia and the United States, implying that any peace plans must exclude Ukrainian and European inputs.[15] Russian ultranationalist milbloggers, a key pro-war constituency for Russian President Vladimir Putin, continued to reject the modified peace proposal, criticize the United States for moving away from Russian demands, and claim that Europe only wants to continue the war in Ukraine.[16] The milbloggers called for Russia to achieve its war aims by force instead.[17] The Kremlin has refused to meaningfully negotiate in response to all US-led peace initiatives thus far in 2025, and has shown no willingness to make the significant compromises required of a negotiation process.[18] The Kremlin very likely aims to prolong negotiations to end the war to allow Russian forces to continue advancing on the battlefield. The Kremlin likely plans to use Russian advances to further intensify information operations aimed at convincing the West and Ukraine that a Russian military victory is inevitable and that Ukraine should capitulate to Russia’s demands. The Kremlin continues to show no willingness to compromise for good-faith peace negotiations and has not set conditions for Russians to accept anything less than a full Russian victory in Ukraine.
Ukrainian forces maintain a limited presence and continue to counterattack within Pokrovsk, indicating that Russian forces likely remain unable to rapidly seize Pokrovsk at this time. Geolocated footage published on November 24 indicates that Ukrainian forces maintain positions along the E-50 Pokrovsk-Pavlohrad highway in northwestern Pokrovsk, where Russian sources previously claimed that Russian forces maintained a presence.[19] Geolocated footage published on November 24 shows Ukrainian forces patrolling in northern Pokrovsk in areas where Russian forces previously infiltrated, and a Ukrainian assault regiment operating in Pokrovsk reported that Ukrainian forces cleared central Pokrovsk of Russian forces.[20] Other Ukrainian military and media sources provided contradictory accounts of reported Ukrainian clearing operations within Pokrovsk, however. Ukrainian Volunteer Army Spokesperson Serhiy Bratchuk and a Ukrainian journalist reported on November 23 and 24 that Ukrainian forces cleared several streets and areas near the Donetska railway and E-50 highway and that Ukrainian forces continue to control some neighborhoods within Pokrovsk.[21] A Ukrainian military source stated on November 23 that Ukrainian forces cleared “specific areas” within Pokrovsk and assessed that these advances may improve the tactical situation for Ukrainian forces within Pokrovsk but would not impact the operational situation in the area.[22] Other Ukrainian military sources refuted on November 24 reports that Ukrainian forces cleared central Pokrovsk.[23] All of the Ukrainian reporting continues to indicate that Ukrainian forces maintain positions and some degree of ability to operate within Pokrovsk despite weeks of intensified Russian efforts to seize the town.
Ukrainian efforts to interdict Russian ground lines of communication (GLOCs) with drones and the disjointed nature of Russian infiltration tactics likely continue to hinder Russian efforts to mass troops necessary to complete the seizure of Pokrovsk within the town. A Ukrainian military source noted on November 24 that effective Ukrainian drone interdiction of Russian GLOCs has cut logistics to 90 percent of Russian assault groups within Pokrovsk, slowing the pace of the Russian advance within the town.[24] The Ukrainian military source added that Russian forces within Pokrovsk, who number over 500, are relatively uncoordinated and sometimes commit friendly fire incidents. The Ukrainian military source reported that Russian forces still have extensive fire control within Pokrovsk and are employing drones to significantly interdict Ukrainian GLOCs, however. The Ukrainian journalist noted that Russian forces continue to take advantage of poor weather conditions to accumulate forces and reenter areas that Ukrainian forces previously cleared, leading to back-and-forth fighting within the town.[25] ISW continues to assess that seasonal foggy and rainy weather conditions are hindering Ukrainian drone operations in eastern Ukraine, allowing Russian forces to conduct ground operations into and within Pokrovsk with less threats from Ukrainian drone reconnaissance and strikes.[26]
Russian forces continue to leverage their new offensive template, which heavily relies on battlefield air interdiction (BAI) efforts and infiltration tactics, to advance in the Hulyaipole direction. Geolocated footage published on November 24 indicates that elements of the Russian 114th Motorized Rifle Regiment (127th Motorized Rifle Division, 5th Combined Arms Army [CAA], Eastern Military District [EMD]) seized Zatyshshya (roughly 2.6 kilometers east of Hulyaipole).[27] The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) also stated that Russian forces seized the settlement.[28] A Ukrainian servicemember stated on November 24 that fighting has begun for Zatyshshya.[29] Russian milbloggers, including a Kremlin-affiliated milblogger, claimed that Russian sabotage and reconnaissance groups have been operating in Hulyaipole for a week (since roughly November 17).[30] One Russian milblogger claimed that Russian forces are assaulting the settlement, but another milblogger directly refuted this claim.[31] Russian forces have been using prolonged BAI campaigns to degrade Ukrainian drone-based defenses and logistics; infiltration missions to identify, worsen, and exploit weak points in Ukrainian defenses; and mass small group assaults to make rapid advances and force Ukrainian forces to withdraw.[32] Reports of limited Russian infiltrations into Hulyaipole are in line with this new campaign design.
Key Takeaways
- US and Ukrainian delegations reportedly narrowed down the initial US-proposed 28-point peace plan to 19 points.
- The persistent Russian rate of advance does not indicate that Russian forces will imminently seize the rest of Donetsk Oblast.
- Russian officials and ultranationalist voices continue rejecting the original and revised US-proposed peace plan drafts and are attempting to portray Europe as responsible for the Russian rejection.
- Ukrainian forces maintain a limited presence and continue to counterattack within Pokrovsk, indicating that Russian forces likely remain unable to rapidly seize Pokrovsk at this time.
- Russian forces continue to leverage their new offensive template, which heavily relies on battlefield air interdiction (BAI) efforts and infiltration tactics, to advance in the Hulyaipole direction.
- Belarusian balloons continue incursions in NATO airspace in Lithuania and Latvia.
- Russian forces recently advanced near Vovchansk, Velykyi Burluk, Siversk, Pokrovsk, Novopavlivka, Velykomykhailivka, and Hulyaipole and in the Kostyantynivka-Druzhkivka tactical area.