Sky News Daily Is Trump using Ukrainian corruption to force a peace deal?
Nov 20, 2025
Dominic Waghorn, International affairs editor, analyzes Trump's secretive 28-point peace plan with Russia, highlighting its controversial concessions for Ukraine. He raises concerns about perceptions of President Zelenskyy's weakness due to military pressures. Jaroslava Barbieri, a research fellow at Chatham House, delves into the Ukrainian corruption scandal, detailing the Enerho Atom scheme. While current evidence doesn’t implicate Zelensky directly, the political ramifications could be significant, though his removal seems improbable for now.
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Plan Mirrors Russian Demands
- Trump's peace plan largely repackages Russian demands as a negotiated settlement rather than reversing the invasion.
- Dominic Waghorn warns it pressures Ukraine to cede territory and limit long-range weapons, sidelining Kyiv in talks.
Terms Reward The Invasion
- The plan would effectively award Russia control of Donbass and prohibit foreign troops and certain long-range Ukrainian weapons.
- Dominic argues these terms reward invasion and are non-starters for Kyiv and many European partners.
Excluded Kyiv And Europe
- The US-Russia draft lacked meaningful consultation with Ukraine and Europe, raising credibility problems.
- Western diplomats are likely to publicly praise effort while privately rejecting its substance, Dominic predicts.