Following a scandalous media leak, now known as ‘DiplomacyLeak‘, that exposed how Russian officials Yuri Ushakov and Kirill Dmitriev discussed presenting their peace plan for Ukraine as a U.S. initiative, President Donald Trump abruptly shifted his public position on two key aspects of the Trump Plan: the plan’s deadline and its official status. This immediate policy adjustment aimed to regain control and mitigate reputational damage after the behind-the-scenes negotiations were revealed to the media.
Ultimatum Cancelled, Pressure on Kyiv Continues
The deadline for adopting the peace plan, initially set for November 27, 2025 (Thanksgiving Day in the U.S.), was completely cancelled. Trump first mentioned this date on November 21 during an interview on Fox News host Brian Kilmeade’s podcast.
At the time, the president stated he had given Ukraine until November 27 to accept the “peace plan proposed by the American side.” According to media leaks, this plan required Kyiv to make territorial concessions and limit the size of its army.
The pressure on Kyiv was immense. American officials warned that conditions could become “even worse” if the agreement was not accepted immediately. This compelled President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to publicly declare that Ukraine faced a choice: to lose “dignity or a key partner.”
However, on November 26, 2025, just one day before his self-imposed deadline, Trump spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One. He declared: “I don’t have a deadline. You know what my deadline is? When it’s over. And I think everyone’s tired of the war at this point.”
From “U.S. Plan” to “Concept”: A Downgrade in Status
Concurrently, Trump significantly altered the official status of the document itself.
Earlier, on November 25, Trump explicitly stated on his Truth Social network: “The original 28-point peace plan, which was developed by the United States, has been finalized…”
Yet, by November 26, amid the leak scandal, Trump claimed that the leaked document was not a final plan but merely: “It was just a map. It was not a plan, but a concept.”
Trump Defends Steve Witkoff
Despite the scandalous nature of the leak, President Trump immediately stood by his special representative, Steve Witkoff. Commenting on the Bloomberg report, Trump stated that he saw nothing unusual in it, considering it a “very standard form of negotiations,” as reported by The Wall Street Journal. Trump explained: “Because he [Witkoff] needs to sell it (the peace deal) to Ukraine. He needs to sell Ukraine to Russia. That’s what a negotiator does.”
He added: “You have to say, ‘Look, they want this.’ You have to convince them of that… I assume he’s saying the same thing to Ukraine because each side has to make concessions.” Thus, Trump attempted to publicly present the leak, which also implicated him, as evidence of a skillful diplomatic maneuver necessary to achieve peace.
NEWSROOM IN notes: The publication of the 28-point peace plan for Ukraine, often referred to as the “Trump Plan” and attributed to the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, will be remembered as an unprecedented case of “Diplomacy through Leak” (DiplomacyLeak). Instead of traditional closed-door negotiations, this critically important international document was unveiled and discussed fragmentarily through the media, causing systemic damage to the transatlantic alliance and diplomatic norms. This working document sparked an international scandal and was seriously deliberated by negotiators from Ukraine, the EU, the USA, and Russia.
