Zelenskyy rallies key allies as Ukraine faces Russian and US pressure

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is holding urgent talks with leaders and officials from approximately 30 countries backing Kyiv’s efforts to secure more favourable terms in negotiations to end the war with Russia, deep into its fourth year.

Ukraine is facing mounting pressure from Russia on the battlefield in its eastern Donetsk region and on the diplomatic front from the United States.

The meeting on Thursday comes a day after US President Donald Trump held discussions with Zelenskyy, along with United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

The group of Ukraine’s allies, known as the “coalition of the willing”, is scrambling to help steer peace negotiations as European governments warn their own security is at stake and to dilute Russian maximalist demands that the US has been leaning towards.

Trump has been pressing for a rapid settlement to the conflict he once boasted he would solve within 24 hours of retaking office, which has raged across a long front line in eastern Ukraine, with frequent attacks by Russia on the rest of the country. Ukraine has also carried out regular attacks in Russian territory.

Following Wednesday’s call, the US president said the group discussed proposals in “pretty strong terms”, adding that Zelenskyy “has to be realistic” about ceding Ukrainian territory to Russia.

Zelenskyy has said in recent days that Ukraine will not give up territory. The nation’s constitution also forbids it.

Merz described it as a “crucial moment” for Ukraine, saying “intensive work on the peace plan is to continue in the coming days”.

After meeting NATO chief Mark Rutte on Thursday, the German chancellor dismissed reports of tensions during the call with Trump, characterising it as “constructive” and noting discussions about “what territorial concessions Ukraine is prepared to make”.

Merz said territorial questions were matters “the Ukrainian president and the Ukrainian people must answer”.

The negotiations have exposed sharp divisions over how much land Ukraine should surrender. Russia has already seized control of all of Luhansk province and occupies large portions of Donetsk, the two regions make up the Donbas, as well as Zaporizhia and Kherson, forming a stretch along Ukraine’s Black Sea coast.

According to the Institute for the Study of War, a US-based monitoring group, Russia has gained just 0.77 percent of Ukraine’s territory so far in 2025, suggesting front lines have largely stabilised despite recent Russian momentum.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday that Russia has relayed “additional proposals” to the US regarding collective security guarantees, though he offered no details on what the Kremlin had suggested.

War rages in Ukraine’s east

The diplomatic push comes as Russian forces mount intense pressure on the strategic eastern city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk, where Moscow has amassed approximately 156,000 soldiers.

Ukraine reported an unusually large mechanised assault on Wednesday involving a 30-vehicle convoy attempting to breach the city’s defences, the largest such attack inside Pokrovsk to date, which Russian forces have been trying to seize for months.

Capturing the former logistics hub would represent Russia’s most significant territorial gain in nearly two years, adding urgency to Kyiv’s efforts to improve the terms of a peace proposal many view as tilted towards Moscow.

Russia has paid heavily for its Pokrovsk offensive, losing more than 1,000 armoured vehicles and over 500 tanks in the area since October 2023, according to Ukraine’s army.

Meanwhile, Ukraine demonstrated its strike capabilities overnight with one of the war’s largest drone attacks, forcing Moscow’s four airports to halt flights for seven hours.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence said air defences intercepted 287 Ukrainian drones across multiple regions.

Trump’s peace drive has created tensions with the US Congress, which passed a sweeping defence bill this week that bolsters European security and restricts the president’s authority to reduce troop levels or withdraw equipment from the continent.

The bipartisan legislation sets aside $400m in security assistance for Ukraine and prevents US forces in Europe from dropping below 76,000 personnel.

Source: Aljazeera