Despite opposition from European allies who claim that the US-backed plan favors Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has indicated that he is willing to collaborate with the US on a strategy to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.
On Thursday, Zelenskyy’s office confirmed that he had received a draft of the plan and that he would meet with US President Donald Trump.
The Ukrainian leader “outlined the fundamental principles that matter to our people,” but his office did not directly comment on the plan’s content, which has not been made public.
The President of Ukraine anticipates meeting with President Trump to discuss the current diplomatic opportunities and the pressing issues that need to be resolved, Zelenskyy’s office said.
According to a number of media reports, Ukraine is ceding territory and weapons as part of the 28-point plan. Axios reported that the plan would give Russia parts of eastern Ukraine that Moscow does not currently control in exchange for a US security guarantee for Ukraine and Europe against upcoming Russian aggression.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed on Thursday that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US special envoy Steve Witkoff have been quietly working on the agreement for a month. Both Ukrainians and Russians have expressed their desire for terms that both sides will agree with.
She said Trump has been informed and supports the emerging proposal, but she declined to comment on specifics.
We think it should be acceptable to both Russia and Ukraine, and we think it is a good idea. And we’re putting in a lot of effort, Leavitt said.
Later, Zelenskyy confirmed to me that he and US Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll had a discussion about the plan in Kiev.
Without making any direct comments on the plan, Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram that “our teams, the USA and Ukraine, will work on the points of the plan to end the war.” We’re prepared for work that is both fair, honest, and timely.
Any new US initiative that Russia appeared to downplayed.
Consultations are not currently occurring. Contacts are made, of course, but there is no such thing as consultation, according to Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin.
Despite Zelenskyy’s pledge to work with the Trump administration on a ceasefire, Kyiv’s allies in Europe have expressed doubt.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot stated at a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels that “Ukrainians want peace – a just peace that respects everyone’s sovereignty and a durable peace that can’t be questioned by future aggression.” However, “peace cannot be a capitulation.”
Any peace proposal must be supported by Europe and Ukraine, according to EU foreign policy head Kaja Kallas, with Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski claiming that any potential agreement that includes Europe, whose security is “at stake,” should be discussed.
“I hope it’s not the victim that has restrictions on its ability to defend itself put on, but it’s the aggressor”, he said.
Fighting continues despite peace talks
Zelenskyy is facing pressure to join the US-backed diplomatic initiative as Ukrainian troops continue to lose ground to Russian forces in the country’s east.
Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed in October that Russian forces had seized almost 5, 000 square kilometres (1, 930sq miles) of Ukraine this year.
On September 25, the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, independently assessed the real figure to be closer to 3, 434sq km (1, 325sq miles).
Russia’s General Staff said Thursday that Moscow’s forces had seized the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kupiansk and controlled large sections of the towns of Pokrovsk and Vovchansk – a claim Ukraine vigorously denied.
“The General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces hereby announces that Kupiansk is under the control of Ukraine’s defence forces”, the Ukrainian General Staff said in a late evening bulletin.
“Also untrue are statements suggesting that 80 percent of Vovchansk in the Kharkiv region has been captured and 70 percent of the city of Pokrovsk”.
This week, a devastating Russian aerial assault on Ternopil in western Ukraine killed at least 26 people and wounded dozens more, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko confirmed Thursday.
Zelenskyy said on Thursday that 22 people were still missing at the site of Wednesday’s attack on Ternopil when Moscow unleashed 476 drones and 48 missiles across Ukraine. The attack damaged energy infrastructure across seven Ukrainian regions, prompting nationwide restrictions on power consumption.
“Every brazen attack against ordinary life indicates that the pressure on Russia]to stop the war] is insufficient”, Zelenskyy said on Telegram.
The bombardment coincided with Zelenskyy’s visit to Turkiye aimed at reviving peace talks with Russia following his European diplomatic mission.
Source: Aljazeera
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