Parsing Trump’s Ukraine peace plan

The Playbook Podcast

POLITICO

News, Daily News, Politics, Government

3.9 • 699 Ratings

🗓️ 25 November 2025

⏱️ 15 minutes

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Summary

President Donald Trump has dispatched Army Secretary Dan Driscoll to meet with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi over the Ukraine peace plan. The proposal is an updated version from the original 28-point plan, drafted by Steve Witkoff, which was criticized by many for favoring Russia. The new plan, which has been slimmed down, has garnered far more support in Kyiv and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy proclaimed that peace seems “doable” now. Playbook’s Jack Blanchard and Adam Wren break down what to know and what comes next.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Extra value meals are back. That means 10 tender juicy McNuggets and medium fries and a drink are just $8.
0:08.4	Only at McDonald's. For limited time only, prices and participation may vary. Prices may be higher in Hawaii, Alaska, and California, and for delivery.
0:20.3	Today on the Playbook podcast, breaking this morning, American and Russian officials will meet today to discuss the Ukraine peace plan.
0:28.8	We have the latest on that.
0:30.8	Donald Trump heads off for Thanksgiving in Florida with no health care plan on the table.
0:36.1	And the latest on the retribution efforts against various
0:39.7	Democrats by Donald Trump's Justice Department. Hello, I'm Jack Blanchard. And I'm Adam Wren.
0:45.7	It's Tuesday, November 25th.
0:49.0	Adam, it's great to have you back. How you doing, man? I'm doing great.
0:52.3	We need to talk about the ongoing peace negotiations
0:54.7	over Ukraine because the big development that Donald Trump has sent an envoy to Abu Dhabi to meet
1:00.9	with senior Russian officials to discuss the latest on the Ukraine peace plan. Now, this is a big deal,
1:06.9	of course, because anyone who's been listening to this podcast and following this closely
1:10.4	through the past few days will know that this peace plan has sort of moved around a lot.
1:15.4	Adam, we had the original 28-point plan that Steve Wickoff came up with in collaboration with the Russians, which has been heavily criticized for being too pro-Russian.
1:24.4	He got revised at the weekend in Geneva, mission led by Marco Rubio, negotiations
1:29.2	with the Ukraine, and we now have a new peace plan that Kiev likes a lot better. And today,
1:34.9	the US is going to present that to Russians, and we're going to see how they react. And we're
1:38.2	going to find out if we're any closer to actually getting a peace deal. One of the interesting
1:42.7	things about it, Adam, check this out.
1:49.6	The guy they're sending to deliver the message to the Russians is once again the Army Secretary,
1:55.9	Dan Driscoll, not Rubio, not Wiccoff, someone who probably a week ago most Americans had even really heard of, has suddenly become one of the key players in this negotiation.
	...

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