Honorable Senator Durbin,
I am writing to you today with a profound sense of urgency and alarm regarding the reported draft agreement, the so-called "28-Point Plan", that is being negotiated through private channels between U.S. and Russian envoys without the participation or consent of the sovereign government of Ukraine.
If the details of this leaked plan are accurate, this is not a path to peace; it is a thinly veiled blueprint for surrender and an egregious act of geopolitical betrayal. I urge you, in the strongest possible terms, to use every tool at your disposal to vehemently oppose this plan and prevent it from gaining any traction within the U.S. government or becoming official policy.
The reported demands of this draft are staggering and completely unacceptable:
Territorial Surrender: Forcing Ukraine to cede control over the eastern Donbas region is a clear violation of international law and rewards Russia’s aggression. It is an amputation of a sovereign state's territory.
Military Disarmament: The demand to halve Ukraine’s Armed Forces and severely restrict its key weapons systems is a catastrophic security risk. It would deliberately gut the military that has successfully prevented a complete Russian takeover, leaving the nation permanently vulnerable to future, inevitable Russian attacks.
Internal Subversion: Mandating the official status of the Moscow-aligned Orthodox Church and Russian as a state language embeds Moscow's influence directly into Ukraine's most sensitive cultural and institutional structures. These are not peace terms; they are demands for political and cultural subordination.
Cutting Off Lifelines: A sharp reduction in U.S. military aid, coupled with a weakened Ukrainian military, is the definition of setting a former ally up for failure and future conquest.
Senator, this plan, negotiated in backrooms and absent of Ukrainian representation, does not serve U.S. interests in global stability or the rule of law. It sacrifices a brave, democratic ally and sends a chilling message to every nation that relies on American commitment: that their sovereignty is merely a bargaining chip to be traded away for political expediency.
To coerce President Zelensky into accepting terms that amputate his country, disarm its defense, and embed the aggressor's influence is morally indefensible. We must not allow Ukraine to be treated as a hostage whose life is negotiated by its captor and a third party.
I implore you, as a principled leader in the Senate, to:
Publicly denounce this 28-Point Plan and the use of private, unauthorized back-channels to conduct foreign policy.
Actively investigate the source and motivation behind these negotiations, and ensure all U.S. diplomacy is conducted transparently and directly with Kyiv.
Mobilize Senate opposition to any proposal that would coerce Ukraine into territorial concession, military disarmament, or political submission to the Kremlin.
The future of Ukraine’s freedom and the credibility of U.S. global leadership are at stake. Please do everything in your power to stop this plan.
Thank you for your immediate attention to this critical matter.
Respectfully,
David Piekarczyk
