How a Kremlin Insider Quietly Pushed a Controversial 28-Point Peace Plan to Trump’s Team

When Kirill Dmitriev — a long-time Kremlin associate and head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund — quietly arrived in Miami this year, his visit barely registered outside a small circle of officials. Weeks later, a purported "secret" 28-point peace proposal to end the war in Ukraine began circulating, and many U.S. and European officials said the draft echoed Moscow’s priorities.

How the draft surfaced

Observers traced the proposal’s appearance to a now-deleted post by Steve Witkoff, described in reports as a presidential special envoy, who posted a media report about the plan and wrote, briefly, "He must have got this from K." The apparent "K" was widely read as a reference to Dmitriev, who was one of the few people publicly quoted in accounts of the draft.

Content and claimed terms

According to officials and lawmakers familiar with the matter, the 28-point draft included highly concessionary items for Ukraine: the ceding of large parts of the Donbas, a reduction in the size of Ukraine’s armed forces, a ban on NATO troops operating in Ukraine, restrictions on basing foreign fighter aircraft inside Ukrainian territory (with limited basing proposed in Poland), and the return of Crimea to Russian control. It also reportedly proposed restoring frozen Russian assets and readmitting Russia to major international groupings.

Who knew — and who didn’t

Multiple U.S. senators and several administration officials say they were blindsided. Senator Marco Rubio, for example, found himself publicly defending the plan despite reports that senior officials in the White House and Congress had not been fully briefed. One source close to the administration said the document appeared to be "literally the Russian ideas typed up." Another insider described the White House reaction as chaotic, with some officials reluctant to acknowledge they had not led the process.

"They do this as a shaping operation to establish an outcome in the minds of the Western public and the media, so that everybody else has to fight back from it," said Keir Giles, author and analyst on Russian information operations.

Sanctions, waivers and access

Dmitriev and his fund were sanctioned by the United States after the full-scale invasion. Those measures generally bar American individuals and companies from dealing with him, yet he was reportedly granted a special travel waiver allowing his visit to Miami, where parts of the draft were discussed with U.S. interlocutors.

Responses and denials

Dmitriev disputed that Russia leaked the plan and denied that the document was a U.S. plan. Some administration officials insisted the draft did not represent the official position of the U.S. government. Others privately warned that even if the draft originated outside formal channels, its public circulation could be an intentional information operation intended to normalize Russian demands.

Why this matters

The episode has generated sharp divisions in Washington and concern among allies. Analysts say the apparent strategy is to set a public baseline that favors Moscow, forcing opponents to respond to those terms rather than shaping the agenda from the outset. At stake are not only the prospects for any negotiated settlement, but also the coherence of Western policy and political unity at a critical moment in the conflict.

As discussions continue, key questions remain: who drafted the text, which U.S. actors authorized engagement with Dmitriev, and whether the draft will shape or merely complicate future negotiations. The affair underscores how back-channel diplomacy, sanctions waivers and information dynamics can intersect to produce unpredictable diplomatic consequences.