President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has discussed US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war in a call with French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
This came as Kyiv faces growing pressure from Washington and sustained attacks by Russian forces on the battlefield nearly four years into the conflict.
The Ukrainian President noted on X, “We are working on the document prepared by the American side.”
“This must be a plan that ensures a real and dignified peace. We are coordinating closely to make sure that the principled stances are taken into account. We coordinated the next steps and agreed that our teams will work together at the corresponding levels.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Zelenskyy’s comments come as media reports indicate that Trump’s 28-point proposal to end the war endorses several of Russia’s top demands, and its war narrative, including that Ukraine cede additional territory, curb the size of its military and be barred from joining NATO.
At the same time, the West would lift sanctions on Russia, and Moscow would be invited back into the Group of Eight (G8), which it was expelled from for seizing and annexing Crimea in 2014.
Citing two unnamed people familiar with the matter, a news agency reported that the Trump administration has threatened to cut intelligence sharing and weapons supplies for Kyiv to pressure it into accepting the plan.
The sources told the agency that Ukraine “was under greater pressure from Washington than during any previous peace discussions” as the US wants the country to sign “a framework of the deal” by next Thursday.
As Ukraine faces mounting pressure from the Trump administration to agree to the deal, Ukrainian forces are also facing serious challenges on the battlefield and deadly bombings by Moscow.
According to Ukrainian officials, rescuers have pulled more bodies from the rubble after a Russian missile attack on the western city of Ternopil earlier this week, bringing the death toll to at least 31. Ninety-four others, including 18 children, were wounded in the strike, which hit a residential apartment block.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin said that about 5,000 Ukrainian soldiers were trapped on the eastern bank of the Oskil River, in Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region.
The report comes as Ukrainian forces have been trying to fend off a Russian attempt to seize the eastern cities of Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad, where fighting has raged.
A Russian strike on the city of Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine late on Thursday killed five people and wounded three others, emergency services said.
Russia has been gaining ground in the Zaporizhia region, which houses the southeastern Ukrainian city that straddles both banks of the Dnipro River.
Allies Stress Need To Safeguard Ukraine’s Interests In Call With Zelenskyy
Germany disclosed after the talks with Zelenskyy that for their part, Ukraine’s European allies, which were not consulted on the US proposal, stressed the need to safeguard “vital European and Ukrainian interests.”
Merz, Macron and Starmer welcomed the “US efforts” to end the war, which began in February 2022 when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbour. However, they assured the Ukrainian leader of their “unwavering and full support for Ukraine on the path to a lasting and just peace.”
The European Union’s Foreign Policy Chief, Kaja Kallas, also said that the EU and Ukraine want peace but will not give in to Russian aggression. “This is a very dangerous moment for all,” Kallas told reporters.
“We all want this war to end, but how it ends matters. Russia has no legal right whatsoever to any concessions from the country it invaded; ultimately, the terms of any agreement are for Ukraine to decide.”
Kaja Kallas
However, Kremlin Spokesman, Dmitry Peskov said that the country’s battlefield advances should convince Zelenskyy that “it is better to negotiate and do it now rather than later.” “The space for the freedom of decision-making is shrinking for him as territories are lost,” Peskov told reporters.
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