A plan to end the war in Ukraine, backed by US President Donald Trump, would force Kyiv to cede large parts of its territory to Russia, cap its military size, and prevent it from joining NATO.

The 28-point plan, described by US officials as a "working document," appears to favor Russia, which started the war launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio have been "quietly" working on the plan, according to the White House.

"The president supports this plan. It's a good plan for both Russia and Ukraine," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has posted a measured response on social media but stopped short of addressing the proposal itself.

"We're geared up for clear and honest work," he wrote.

Peace plan includes territorial concessions, security measures and election deadline

Under the terms of the plan, Ukraine would have to limit its military to 600,000 troops and would "receive robust security guarantees."

Ukraine would not be allowed to join NATO, and the military alliance would be barred from expanding further or stationing troops in the country.

Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk, including areas Russian President Vladimir Putin's military failed to seize, would be recognized as de facto Russian, including by the United States. Russia has illegally occupied Crimea since 2014.

Ukraine would also be required to hold an election within 100 days.

A comprehensive reconstruction plan for Ukraine is proposed, featuring $100 billion (almost €87 billion) in frozen Russian assets to be spent on development and investment.

Russia would see phased sanction relief and be invited to rejoin the G8. A non-aggression agreement would be concluded between Russia, Ukraine and Europe, according to the plan.

Russia would also retain half of the power generated by Europe's largest nuclear power plant, Zaporizhzhia, which is located in Ukraine.

The United States would enter into an agreement with Russia covering energy, natural resources, infrastructure, artificial intelligence, data centers, and rare earth metals extraction in the Arctic.

Europeans skeptical, Russia says consultations not underway

But European nations, key backers of Ukraine, have indicated they would not accept demands for Kyiv to make punishing concessions.

"For any plan to work, it needs Ukrainians and Europeans on board," European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said at the bloc's meeting of foreign ministers.

"We haven't heard of any concessions on the Russian side," Kallas added.

"Ukrainians want peace, a just peace that respects everyone's sovereignty, a durable peace that can't be called into question by future aggression," said French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot. "But peace cannot be a capitulation."

Russia, meanwhile, said it had nothing to add beyond the position Putin laid out at a summit with Trump in August.

"Consultations are not currently underway. There are contacts, of course, but there is no process that could be called consultations," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

German top diplomat says US peace plan not final

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has welcomed Trump's peace plan for Ukraine. He nevertheless said it was not a final plan but "rather a list of issues and options."

Wadephul told German broadcaster ZDF that any effort to bring Russia and Ukraine into dialogue was "worthy of support." The top diplomat acknowledged Berlin had no prior knowledge of the plan.

He said Europe was "involved" in possible negotiations, adding that he had earlier spoken to US special envoy Witkoff.

Wadephul stressed that both Europe and Germany stand by Ukraine, adding that Kyiv "has the best possible negotiating position."

"We support Ukraine like no other European country," he said of Berlin's position.

Edited by: Sean Sinico, Saim Dušan Inayatullah