ReutersUkraine is gearing up to deliver an updated peace proposal to the White House, aiming to evade making territorial sacrifices to Russia.
Kyiv is expected to suggest alternatives to the US after President Volodymyr Zelensky once more dismissed the idea of relinquishing land, asserting he had “no right” to do so under Ukrainian or international law.
He expressed these views during a meeting with European and NATO leaders on Monday, part of a unified effort to dissuade the US from endorsing a peace agreement that necessitates significant concessions from Ukraine, which allies fear would expose it to a future invasion.
In the meantime, the city of Sumy in north-western Ukraine was left in darkness overnight following a Russian drone assault.
The governor of the region reported that over a dozen drones had struck power infrastructure, marking the latest in Russia’s series of nightly assaults. No casualties were reported.
Zelensky’s ongoing diplomatic tour in Europe follows intensive negotiations between US and Ukrainian representatives over the weekend, which did not yield an agreement Kyiv could consent to.
Zelensky was scheduled to receive a briefing on that confidential summit on Monday from his chief advisor Rustem Umerov, who stated on Telegram that he would relay details from the direct discussions between the US and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Ukrainian leader informed a news conference that his team could propose a new plan to the Americans as early as Tuesday, according to the AFP news agency.
Concerning territory concessions, Zelensky remarked: “Russia is demanding we give up land, yet we have no intention of yielding anything.”
He added: “We lack any legal right to do this, according to Ukrainian law, our constitution, and international law. And we also do not possess any moral right either.”
Zelensky has persistently claimed that any modifications to Ukraine’s borders would need to be sanctioned by a public referendum.
In other developments, he informed reporters that the original 28-point plan suggested by the US – which had been turned down by Kyiv and European leaders as overly favorable to Russia – has been reduced to 20 points, as reported by the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
He mentioned that no “pro-Ukrainian” points were eliminated from the proposal, though there had also been no “compromise” regarding territory.
Zelensky identified control of the eastern Donbas region and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear facility as among the “most sensitive” topics.
The initial leaked version of the US-endorsed proposal suggested that Ukraine relinquish complete control of the Donbas to Russia, despite Kremlin forces’ failure to seize it entirely after nearly four years of conflict.
According to the draft plan, energy produced at Zaporizhzhia, the largest nuclear power station in Europe, would be shared between Russia and Ukraine.
Leaders in Kyiv and throughout Europe have indicated there has been progress in refining that draft in recent weeks, and have commended the Trump administration for attempting to broker an end to the conflict.
However, Monday’s hastily organized summit at Downing Street – featuring Zelensky, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz – was broadly seen as a display of support for Ukraine as it strives to resist pressure from the White House.
No 10 indicated that it was acknowledged that the US-led discussions represented a “critical moment” to enhance support for Ukraine, reiterating calls for a “just and lasting peace… which includes robust security guarantees.”
EPAThe specifics of those forthcoming security guarantees remain another unresolved issue in the negotiations.
Efforts are ongoing to create an international coalition ready to provide continual military support to Kyiv in the event of a peace agreement, though the exact nature of that support is still uncertain.
While the UK and France have suggested sending international troops to Ukraine, several prominent defense players in Europe, including Germany and Italy, have voiced doubts about that notion.
It remains unclear the extent to which the US would be willing to back any future defense arrangements for Ukraine.
Following discussions in London, Zelensky traveled to Brussels to meet NATO leader Mark Rutte and EU president Ursula von der Leyen, and is set to meet Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni on Tuesday.
Moscow has also stated that its discussions with the White House have been productive, despite little public evidence that it has altered any of the objectives outlined by the Kremlin when it initiated its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
On Sunday, Trump suggested that he considered Zelensky the primary hurdle to securing a peace agreement, which has become a significant foreign policy objective for him, claiming he could accomplish this rapidly during the 2024 presidential election campaign.
He remarked to journalists that Russia was “fine” with the peace proposal presented to both sides by the US, but expressed that he was a “little disappointed that President Zelensky hasn’t read it”. It remained unclear if that assertion was accurate.
