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Published On 20 Nov 2025
In light of rumors of a potential US-backed plan that would heavily favor Moscow’s demands and narrative, European leaders are adamant that any attempt to end Russia’s conflict in Ukraine will need the support of both the EU and Ukraine.
EU foreign policy head Kaja Kallas told reporters when she arrived for a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Thursday that the country has always backed “long-lasting and just peace, and we welcome any efforts to achieve that.”
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She continued, “Once a plan is successful, it needs Ukrainians and Europeans on board.”
According to Kallas, other top diplomats from Germany, Spain, and Poland, with Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski claiming that any potential agreement that would require consultation from Europe is “at stake.”
He said, “I hope the aggressor is the one who has restrictions on its ability to defend itself,” not the victim.
However, Russia appeared to be against entering into negotiations, repeating on Thursday that there are no ongoing discussions with Washington regarding a deal with Ukraine and that such a deal would need to address the root causes of the conflict.
According to Reuters news agency, Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, declined to comment on whether Russian President Vladimir Putin had been informed about the details of the rumored peace plan for Ukraine.
There have been numerous accusations and instances of the Kremlin conducting shadow war, testing the EU and the UK’s resolve with violent cyberattacks and drone intrusions, and European nations have grown increasingly concerned about the war’s potential spilling into their borders.
After a Russian spy ship that has spent weeks scurrying across British waters directed lasers at British pilots sent to monitor the vessel, the UK on Wednesday warned it is ready to use “military options” if necessary.
Three children were among the at least 26 people killed in the Ukrainian city of Ternopil on Wednesday as a deadly wave of Russian attacks killed.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, 22 people were still missing as of Thursday morning, and more than 230 first responders were working in search and rescue.
The president remarked, “The Russians have murdered innocent, peaceful people who were merely sleeping in their homes.”
On Thursday, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko expresses her surprise visit to Ukraine to US Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll, saying that the visit would give the senior military officers accompanying the secretary an opportunity to assess the state of the country and experience the effects of Russian aggression first-hand.
Unnamed officials who were quoted in news reports on Wednesday claimed that the US proposal was developed after consultation with Russian officials and closely aligned with Russia’s strategy for ending the war.
The 28-point plan was discussed with US envoy Steve Witkoff earlier this week in Miami, Florida, with Ukrainian National Security and Defence Council Secretary Rustem Umerov.
The rest of the eastern Donbass region, which is coveted by Russia because of its strategic location, fierce fighting, and its industrial history, would need to be given up, including the area that is under Kyiv’s control. According to several outlets, the proposal would also call for military spending cuts in Ukraine.
Since Russia’s invasion of 2022, Ukraine’s Zelenskyy has made it clear that potential peace talks should not sideline Ukraine, a point that many members of the EU’s leadership agree with. Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance had a dramatic meeting in February.
Before that contentious meeting, Zelenskyy said, “We simply will not be able to accept any agreements without us.”
Since then, he has repeatedly pointed out red lines, including ceasing its territory, that neither the Ukrainian government nor its constitution would permit.
Some European leaders have expressed less enthusiasm for the project. In a seemingly contradictory reference to an ongoing corruption investigation involving an alleged $100 million energy kickback scheme, Hungary’s foreign minister Peter Szijjarto said the EU should stop sending money to Ukraine.
As anticorruption authorities said they had detained five people over an alleged plot to control procurement at nuclear agency Energoatom, the resignations of Ukraine’s Justice Minister German Galushchenko and Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk came out last week.
She wants to send another 100 billion dollars to Ukraine instead of stopping the payments and demanding immediate financial approval from the corrupt Ukrainian government. That is insane, Szijjarto claimed.
Victor Orban, Hungary’s right-wing populist leader who views Russian President Vladimir Putin as an ally, has recently received a “financial shield” and an exemption from Trump’s sanctions on Russian energy to protect its economy.
Recently, the tourist boats that typically navigate Kenya’s famous Lake Naivasha have taken on a new function: rescuing people from flood-stricken homes.
Residents of the modest Kihoto district are shocked by this year’s unprecedented scale despite the lake’s water level having increased by more than a decade due to repeated flooding.
Residents Rose Alero and Rose Alero both expressed disappointment that this has never occurred before.
The Rift Valley lake has reportedly widened 1.5 kilometers (about 1 mile) of its inland elevation.
Alero, a 51-year-old grandmother, observed that many neighbors had fallen ill and that “people are suffering.”
Toilets are overflowing throughout the district, while water in her home reaches waist height.
People are “stuck,” meaning they have nowhere to go.
The destruction is extensive: police stations are submerged in floating vegetation, churches are destroyed, and hundreds of homes are completely submerged.
Children jumped on improvised rafts to evacuate a school during a sudden water surge.
According to Joyce Cheche, the county’s director of disaster risk management, rising waters have displaced 7, 000 people, which also threaten wildlife and economic activity.
Cheche claimed that the county has implemented health measures and provided transportation assistance, but no financial compensation has yet been given.
Workers in the crucial flower export industry avoid work because they fear cholera and landslides.
She also emphasized the danger of interacting with the lake’s numerous hippos.
Cheche admitted, “We didn’t anticipate it.”
Acacia trunks that were once lush are now submerged in waters that advance about 1 meter (3. 3 feet) each day at the lake’s edge.
Other Rift Valley lakes are affected by this phenomenon, which has caused thousands of people’s displacement.
Numerous studies primarily attribute this to climate change-driven increases in rainfall.
However, Kenyan geologist John Lagat, regional manager of the state-owned Geothermal Development Corporation, points to the lakes’ location along a significant geological fault as the primary cause.
Before shifting tectonic plates, which had reduced the lake’s diameter by only 1 km (0,6 miles) by 1921, English settlers arrived in the late 19th century.
Lagat noted that increased rainfall and land degradation from population growth also play a “substantial” role in flooding as underground outflows became increasingly sealed by tectonic movements, trapping water.
Alero, who lives in a flood-scarred home, expressed her concern for the upcoming rainy season.