Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, slammed the 28-point plan, which was quietly hammered out between Washington and Moscow, to end the conflict in eastern Europe. The proposal contains several nonstarters for Ukraine, including placing the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk and Crimea under "de facto" Russian control and recognized by the U.S.
The proposal, which U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll discussed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday in Kyiv, would cut down the size of Ukraine's army and forbid NATO troops from being stationed in Ukraine, preventing the prospects of having a European peacekeeping force.
"This so-called 'peace plan' has real problems, and I am highly skeptical it will achieve peace. Ukraine should not be forced to give up its lands to one of the world's most flagrant war criminals in Vladimir Putin," Wicker said in a statement Friday. "The size and disposition of Ukraine's armed forces is a sovereign choice for its government and people."
"And any assurances provided to Putin should not reward his malign behavior or undermine the security of the United States or allies," Wicker added. "In particular, any suggestion that we can pursue arms control with a serial liar and killer like Putin should be treated with great skepticism."
The proposal would not warrant major concessions from the Kremlin, aside from directing $100 billion in frozen Russian assets toward Ukraine's reconstruction. The deal would lead to Russia's full return to the global economy and all sanctions being erased.
"Putin has spent the entire year trying to play President Trump for a fool. If Administration officials are more concerned with appeasing Putin than securing real peace, then the President ought to find new advisors," McConnell said in a statement Friday.
"Rewarding Russian butchery would be disastrous to America's interests," added McConnell, who has criticized the president's approach to brokering a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. "And a capitulation like Biden's abandonment of Afghanistan would be catastrophic to a legacy of peace through strength."
Zelensky did not reject the proposal, but emphasized on Friday that Ukraine faces a tough choice of preserving its sovereign rights or risking losing support from the U.S.
Trump signaled Friday that he is giving Kyiv until Thursday to agree to the proposed peace plan.
Read the full report at thehill.com.
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