Women Leaders

Bad plans come unstuck with Hanna Shelest & Iryna Krasnoshtan


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According to Wikipedia, 28 is “approximately the number of grams in an ounce, and used as such in commercial trade.” This may explain why there were 28 points in the US plan to end Russia’s war on Ukraine: it was drafted by people interested in commerce and trade, and the US stands to gain some US$ 300 billion from this deal. However, the US financial gain is the only original element in the plan, the rest being a list of Russian demands denying Ukraine sovereignty by taking land from it, defining its military, its constitution and its elections, and forcing cultural and religious issues upon it.

That this draft was cooked up by US forces friendly to Russia is common knowledge, but that does not make the event, let alone the plan, less of an abomination: Ukraine was treated as no more than item, while the EU was not consulted — despite being listed as liable to underwrite much of the programme. 

At base, this is a plan to reward aggression and the taking of land by force while imposing penalties upon those who object.

To understand what exactly is wrong with the proposals, and where Ukraine goes from here, Ilana Bet-El is joined by two true women leaders: Dr Hanna Shelest, Director of Security Programmes at the Foreign Policy Council "Ukrainian Prism (https://prismua.org/en/)", and Iryna Krasnoshtan, Programme Director at the International Center for Ukrainian Victory (https://ukrainianvictory.org/). With the facts at their fingertips and the passion of fighters, this conversation explains what is at stake for the world as well as Ukraine.


This episode was recorded on 27 November 2025

Chapters

  • Dissecting the 28 point “peace proposal”
  • The international dynamics of the war in Ukraine
  • Why Ukrainians and Europeans are left out of the conversation?
  • What would a Ukrainian peace plan look like?

Mentions

Ukraine Analytica Ukraine Institute

28 point plan

Washington roiled by leaked transcript of Witkoff-Ushakov call

Agathe Demarais article on the US-Russia Plan , De Wever Overstates Belgium's Risks

Follow

Iryna Krasnoshtan LinkedIn Hanna Shelest LinkedIn

Ilana Bet-El Women Leaders Instagram & YouTube

ELN

Credits

Production: Florence Ferrando

Music: Let Good Times Roll, RA from #Uppbeat

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