Leaked: the White House's supposed 100-day plan to achieve peace in Ukraine

The war in Ukraine began in February 2022, when Russian troops invaded eastern Ukraine. Since then, the dream of peace between the two countries has seemed unattainable. But that could change in 2025.

Independent Russia news website Meduza reports that the Ukrainian outlet Strana has released what it claims to be a leak containing US President Donald Trump’s secret 100-day plan to end the war with Russia.

As reported by Newsweek, a document leaked by Strana reveals that former U.S. President Donald Trump is considering a phone call to Russian President Vladimir Putin in late January or February, aiming to initiate discussions with Moscow.

The next step of the plan would have the US President meeting with both Putin and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss the possibility of a ceasefire.

The leaked proposal claims that Ukrainian troops would, at this point, be  withdrawn from Russia’s Kursk region.

The ceasefire, according to the Strana document, is aimed to take place around April 20, just in time for Easter Sunday, an important religious holiday for Orthodox Christianity.

If all these steps are followed, an International Peace Conference would take place, with global superpowers mediating an agreement between Moscow and Kyiv. Meduza writes that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan would be expected to play a role.

The leaked proposal sets May 9 as the potential date to end the war. The choice is not random. It’s one of the most important holidays in the former Soviet Union and current-day Russian Federation, where it’s known as Victory Day over Nazi Germany in World War 2.

May 9 was also one of the most important holidays in Ukraine. However, with the Russian takeover of Crimea in the early 2010s and the invasion of the Donbas region in 2022, it has lost popularity and been phased out due to its association with Russian militarism.

Newsweek writes that the scheme presented by Strana also provides parameters for both sides of the conflict. Kyiv would be requested to be barred from becoming part of NATO and declaring neutrality.

The Ukrainian government would also have to recognize Moscow’s sovereignty over the territories occupied by Russian troops and relinquish any diplomatic or military to take possession of them.

In exchange, Ukraine could become part of the European Union by 2030 and have the EU aid the country’s postwar reconstruction.

Russia, in the meantime, would have sanctions lifted, with terms and timeframe depending on Moscow’s conditions and agreements to end the war.

More importantly, Newsweek highlights that sanctions on Russian gas and other energy sources would be lifted. However, special tariffs would be placed to fund Ukraine’s reconstruction.

However, the veracity of the leak has been put into question. Meduza informs that the Office of the President of Ukraine has dismissed the document released by Strana as fake, arguing that these are planted stories that often only benefit Russia.

Newsweek also cites Spravdi, a Ukrainian organization that counters disinformation, which defined Strana in 2021 as an entity that “communicates Russian propaganda”.

“There’s a lot of hype surrounding this topic, so it’s understandable why foreign media are interested”, commented Andriy Kovalenko, the head of Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation, over Telegram. “However, our platforms and outlets must approach it more prudently”.

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