Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared to deny that the US had decided to push a Moscow-friendly peace plan on Ukraine, becoming the first Trump administration official to publicly temper expectations on a reported deal that would gut Kyiv’s defense force and give up land to Russia.

“Ending a complex and deadly war such as the one in Ukraine requires an extensive exchange of serious and realistic ideas. And achieving a durable peace will require both sides to agree to difficult but necessary concessions,” he wrote in a cryptic post to X on Thursday night. “That is why we are and will continue to develop a list of potential ideas for ending this war based on input from both sides of this conflict.”

The comment came after Axios on Tuesday reported a deal had been reached, citing Putin henchman Kirill Dmitriev, who claimed he worked on the plan with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.

On Wednesday, The Post revealed details of the 28-point framework, which called for Ukraine to shrink its Army to 2.5 times smaller than it is now; force Kyiv to turn over long-range missiles “or any kind that can reach Moscow or St. Petersburg”; and ban any international brigades within Ukraine — which has long been considered the best way to ensure a halt to Russia’s assault would remain in place, according to sources familiar with the details.

Financial Times also reported the deal would include the entirety of Ukraine’s Donbas region — including portions of the territory that Russia has been unable to capture in more than 11 years of war there.

Politico later reported that a senior White House official said the proposed framework could be agreed to “as soon as this week,” despite including terms experts say were unreasonable to expect of Ukraine, amounting to the near-abandonment of its sovereignty.

“Giving up the remainder of the Donbas would enable the Russians to make a run on Kyiv as the territory is flat and reducing the size of the Ukrainian military, giving up weapons and no international security force would make that an even more likely outcome,” said the Atlantic Council’s Alex Plitsas.

“If the plan as described is accurate, it would put $200 billion in US military assistance and aid to Ukraine at risk. Any peace plan needs to protect US taxpayer investments and this proposal is deeply unserious,” he added.

While Ukrainian officials confirmed the plan was presented to Kyiv, Rubio’s comments appear to convey that the deal was not set in stone.

However, a senior US official said Trump “has been briefed on the plan and supports it,” adding that Witkoff had been “quietly working on this plan for a month, receiving input from both the Ukrainians and the Russians on what terms are acceptable to them to end the war.”

“Both sides will have to make concessions, not just Ukraine,” the person said.

Asked for clarification on what Rubio meant about the plan, the White House released a general response stating that “the president and his team never gives up.”

“President Trump has been clear since day one that he wants the war between Russia Ukraine to end, and he has grown frustrated with both sides for their refusal to commit to a peace agreement,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “… The United States has been working on a detailed and acceptable plan for both sides to stop the killing and create a durable, lasting peace.”

The State Department declined a request for comment.