Scoop: U.S. secretly drafting new plan to end Ukraine war

Zoom in: The plan's 28 points fall into four general buckets, sources tell Axios: peace in Ukraine, security guarantees, security in Europe, and future U.S. relations with Russia and Ukraine.

• It's unclear how the plan approaches contentious issues such as territorial control in eastern Ukraine — where Russian forces have been inching forward, but still control far less land than the Kremlin has demanded.

Behind the scenes: Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff is leading the drafting of the plan and has discussed it extensively with Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev, a U.S. official said.

• Dmitriev, who runs Russia's sovereign wealth fund and is also deeply involved in diplomacy over Ukraine, told Axios in an interview on Monday that he spent three days huddled with Witkoff and other members of Trump's team when Dmitriev visited Miami from Oct. 24-26.
• Dmitriev expressed optimism about the deal's chances of success because, unlike past efforts, "we feel the Russian position is really being heard."

The other side: Witkoff was expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday in Turkey but postponed his trip, Ukrainian and U.S. officials said.

• Witkoff discussed the plan with Zelensky's national security adviser, Rustem Umerov, in a meeting earlier this week in Miami, a Ukrainian official confirmed to Axios.
• "We know the Americans are working on something," the Ukrainian official said.
• "The president has been clear that it is time to stop the killing and make a deal to end the war. President Trump believes that there is a chance to end this senseless war if flexibility is shown," a White House official told Axios.

State of play: Dmitriev told Axios the basic idea was to take the principles Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to in Alaska in August and produce a proposal "to address the Ukraine conflict, but also how to restore U.S.-Russia ties [and] address Russia's security concerns."

• "It's actually a much broader framework, basically saying, 'How do we really bring, finally, lasting security to Europe, not just Ukraine,'" he said.

• The aim is to produce a written document along those lines before Trump and Putin next meet, according to Dmitriev. Plans for a Budapest summit between the leaders remain on hold, for now.

Friction point: Dmitriev said this effort was entirely unrelated to the U.K.-led push to draft a Gaza-style peace plan for Ukraine, which he said had no chance of success because it disregards Russia's positions.

• The Russian envoy said the U.S. side was now in the process of explaining the "benefits" of its current approach to the Ukrainians and the Europeans.
• "It's happening with the background of Russia definitely having additional successes on the battlefield," he added, contending Moscow's leverage is growing.

What to watch: The U.S. official confirmed the White House had started briefing European officials about the new plan, in addition to the Ukrainians.

• The official said the White House thinks there's a real chance of getting the Ukrainians and Europeans on board, and said the plan would be adapted based on input from the various parties.
• "We think the timing is good for this plan now. But both parties need to be practical and realistic," the U.S. official said.