EU leaders reacted cautiously to reports of a new 28 point US proposal for ending the war in Ukraine, stressing that any credible peace initiative must be supported by both Kyiv and European partners. Speaking before the EU Foreign Affairs Council on 20 November, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that Europe welcomes genuine attempts to stop the fighting, but warned that a sustainable agreement cannot be reached without those directly affected by the conflict.

Kallas noted that European officials had only recently learned about the latest draft, which American media say was prepared by the Trump administration in coordination with Russian representatives. She underlined that peace cannot be discussed in abstract terms, since the war has a clear aggressor and a state defending itself. According to her, Moscow has shown no intention of making concessions, pointing to the most recent night of Russian missile attacks and to the fact that the vast majority of Russian strikes continue to target civilian sites such as homes, hospitals and schools.

She repeated that Europe supports meaningful diplomatic efforts, but only if they result in a just and lasting settlement. Kallas said that without Ukrainian and European participation, no plan could realistically be implemented.

The emerging US blueprint, reported on 19 November, includes proposals such as transferring the entire Donbas region to Russia, limiting certain categories of Ukrainian weapons, significantly reducing the size of Ukraine’s armed forces and granting Russian the status of a state language. Qatar and Türkiye have reportedly been involved in the drafting process. According to Axios, a planned meeting in Türkiye between President Volodymyr Zelensky and US envoy Steve Witkoff was cancelled after the Ukrainian side arrived with their own proposal, which Moscow would not accept.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio commented separately that Washington will continue developing “serious and realistic” ideas aimed at ending the war. Rubio argued that both Kyiv and Moscow would ultimately have to agree to difficult compromises. He said this is why the administration was working on a list of possible scenarios and would keep expanding it.

Amid these diplomatic moves, the White House confirmed that Gen. Keith Kellogg, the US Special Envoy for Ukraine, will leave his post in January. His departure removes one of Kyiv’s strongest advocates in Washington at a moment of mounting pressure. Sources cited by Reuters said Kellogg always viewed his assignment as temporary, as roles of this kind typically require Senate confirmation after about a year. The administration has not named a successor.

Initially tasked with engagement on both Ukraine and Russia, Kellogg was later limited to the Ukrainian track after the Kremlin objected to his participation. At times, his role was overshadowed by Trump ally Steve Witkoff, whom Moscow reportedly preferred as an interlocutor despite his lack of diplomatic or military background.

In Kyiv, Kellogg was regarded as a reliable defender of Ukraine’s position. Zelensky once joked that Kellogg’s presence in the capital offered the same protection as a Patriot missile battery. During his term, he helped negotiate the US Ukraine critical minerals agreement, assisted in securing the release of political prisoners in Belarus and consistently condemned Russian attacks.

Advocacy groups in Washington described him as an essential link between Kyiv and the Trump administration. According to Ostap Yarysh of Razom for Ukraine, Kellogg was one of the few US officials able to identify and counter Russia’s delaying tactics during negotiations.

His exit coincides with reports that Witkoff is working on a new plan more closely aligned with Russian demands. He has allegedly been meeting with Kirill Dmitriev, a senior Russian negotiator, about renewed territorial concessions and limits on Ukrainian sovereignty. Although the developments appear linked, sources say Kellogg’s departure is not a reaction to the new plan or to domestic corruption scandals affecting the Ukrainian government.

Still, the combination of intensified Russian strikes, renewed territorial pressure and shifting diplomatic dynamics underscores how fragile Ukraine’s situation remains as it enters a fourth winter of war without one of its most outspoken American supporters.