Can Witkoff Sell Putin a Peace Plan Ukraine Has Not Fully Signed Off On?

White House envoy Steve Witkoff is traveling to Oslo for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders, then plans to travel to Russia to meet President Vladimir Putin and present peace ideas developed with Ukraine and European partners, according to a US official cited by Axios. Witkoff met with Zelensky on Tuesday amid a deepening rift between Ukraine's leader and Trump.

The diplomatic push follows an episode that illustrates how far apart Washington and Kyiv have drifted. Trump announced an "energy ceasefire" between Ukraine and Russia on Truth Social, saying both parties had agreed to halt long-range attacks on energy infrastructure. Zelensky said the deal was "news to me" and that Ukraine would accept it if Putin did the same. He later said Russia was continuing to attack Ukraine and ignoring the declared ceasefire.

That sequence matters for what comes next. A ceasefire can be announced in Washington without Kyiv's prior knowledge, and Russia can be accused of ignoring it. If the envoy's Moscow trip is built on proposals Ukraine has not fully signed off on, any deal risks being unenforceable or rejected by the side doing the fighting.

The territorial question remains unresolved. US-led peace efforts focus on roughly 6,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian-held land in Donetsk that Russia has not seized militarily. Jared Kushner claimed a deal is in place if Ukraine withdraws, while Zelensky warned that ceding land would embolden Putin.

Several things are not established. It is not confirmed that Witkoff has met Putin; the evidence says he planned to. It is not verified that Russia formally agreed to the energy ceasefire, only that Trump announced it. The specific proposals Witkoff is taking to Moscow, and whether Ukraine has endorsed them, are unknown. Whether the Donetsk withdrawal proposal remains on the table, and whether Kyiv accepts it, is also unclear.

What is clear is the gap between the announced deal and the on-the-ground reality. That gap is the story the next round of talks will have to close.