Senators claim Rubio told them 28-point proposal was Russian plan, not American
A group of US senators say they were told by Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the 28-point peace plan for Ukraine is not an American proposal - that it represents the Russian position and was leaked by a representative for Moscow.
The three senators say they spoke to Rubio on the phone on his way to Geneva, having asked him to clarify how the 28-point peace plan emerged.
One of them, Republican Mike Rounds, who sits on the Senate intelligence committee, said they were concerned the leaked document looked Russian in nature - even including the way it had been written.
The senators say Rubio told them it was not in fact an American proposal, but a Russian plan, leaked by the Russian side, and the Ukrainians would be able to respond to it and negotiate.
This contradicts the position of the White House, which said this week the plan was endorsed by President Donald Trump, having been drawn up by his officials.
The senators also said Rubio was not aware of the widely reported US threat to cut off intelligence and weapons support to Kyiv, if it did not respond by a deadline of next Thursday.
The senators’ revelations hint at a growing sense of dysfunction within the administration over the peace plan, which has left European leaders scrambling to shore up Kyiv’s position - in what many have interpreted as Trump pivoting heavily towards Moscow with an ultimatum for Ukraine.
After the senators’ comments, the State Department spokesman called reports that it was not an American plan “blatantly false”. Rubio posted on social media to say the plan was authored by the US “based on input from the Russian side”, but with “previous and ongoing input from Ukraine”.
Rubio lands in Geneva for talks
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has landed in Geneva, ahead of talks on the war in Ukraine.
Western leaders express unease with peace plan
The brash, status quo smashing diplomacy of President Trump has met with the equally in character caution of European allies and others.
Yesterday afternoon, nine European countries - including the UK - as well as Japan, Canada and the European Union publicly expressed their unease with the US plan.
They said it was an “initial draft” that will “require additional work.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said it had "a number of important elements", but there was "more to do".
The French President Emmanuel Macron said “we need something which is good for Ukrainians".
The German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said “war can only be ended if Ukraine gives its unreserved consent.”
Later, while still in Johannesburg, the prime minister made back-to-back calls – firstly to Ukraine's President Zelensky, then President Trump.
The UK’s National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell left Johannesburg early to travel to Geneva in Switzerland – where his equivalents from across Europe will join American and Ukrainian officials for talks later today.
Another call between Starmer and Trump is expected too.
The US, Russia, and Ukraine on the latest proposal
The US
President Trump has said the plan does not represent a "final offer" for Ukraine, having previously said President Volodymyr Zelensky "will have to" approve it.
Ukraine
When details of the plan first emerged, Zelensky warned that his country faced "one of the most difficult moments in our history" over US pressure to accept it.
On Saturday, Zelensky announced that the head of his office, Andriy Yermak, would lead Ukraine's negotiating team for future talks on a peace deal - including any that may involve Russia.
In Kyiv, the widow of a Ukrainian soldier told the BBC: "This is not a peace plan, it is a plan to continue the war."
Ukraine's allies
In a joint statement issued at the G20 summit in South Africa yesterday, a number of Ukraine's Western allies said the proposal "would leave Ukraine vulnerable to attack".
Russia
When the plan was leaked, Russian President Vladimir Putin said it could form the "basis" of an agreement.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: "We are seeing some new elements, but officially we haven't received anything. There has been no substantive discussion of those points."
What's in the 28-point peace plan?
The draft US-Russia peace plan has been widely leaked. Here's what else we know about what's included:
- It proposes to hand over areas of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region still under Ukrainian control to the de facto control of Vladimir Putin's Russia
- The draft proposes that "Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk will be recognised as de facto Russian, including by the United States"
- It calls for Ukraine to cut the size of its armed forces to 600,000 people
- Ukraine to sign in its constitution that it won't join Nato, and Nato to commit to not allowing Ukraine to join in the future
- Bring back Russia from isolation - "to be re-integrated into the global economy" and invited back into G8
- Frozen Russian worth assets worth $100bn (£76.46bn) should be invested "in US-led efforts to rebuild and invest in Ukraine" - with the US receiving 50% of the profits and Europe adding $100bn in investment for reconstruction
Read more: What we know about leaked US draft plan to end Russia's Ukraine war.
Geneva to host talks on Ukraine war, as Trump pushes for 28-point peace plan
Delegations from the US, Ukraine and its European allies will convene in Geneva this morning for fresh talks on the Ukraine war.
It comes after US President Donald Trump proposed a 28-point plan to end the war, which Russian President Vladimir Putin said could form the basis of an agreement.
As it stands, the plan would include the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from parts of eastern Ukraine and the freezing of borders on the country's southern battle lines.
Ukrainian President Zelensky warned his country faced "one of the most difficult moments in our history", as Trump has applied pressure on him to accept the deal.
In a joint statement issued at the G20 summit in South Africa on Saturday, Ukraine's allies publicly pushed back against the plan.
They voiced concern it "would leave Ukraine vulnerable to attack" and would "require additional work".
Overnight, Ukraine struck a major power station in Russia's Moscow region which triggered a fire, according to Moscow's regional governor.
Meanwhile, the regional head of Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region said 894 Russian strikes damaged buildings and infrastructure in the past 24-hours.
We'll be closing monitoring the summit in Geneva and the situation in Ukraine throughout the day, stay with us.
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