Ukraine to send US revised peace plan after Zelensky rejects giving up territory
The Ukrainian President has prepared revised peace proposals for the US after rejecting Washington’s demands for territorial concessions following talks with European leaders and the Pope.
Volodymyr Zelensky said he planned to send the United States revised proposals “in the near future” on ending Russia’s war on Ukraine, after meeting with European allies to strategise on their next steps.
Donald Trump is pressuring Kyiv to accept a deal put forward by Washington, the initial version of which was criticised by Ukraine’s allies as overly favourable to Russia.
Writing on X after meetings with European allies this week, Mr Zelensky said the “Ukrainian and European components are now more developed, and we are ready to present them to our partners in the US”.
“In the near future, we will be ready to send the refined documents to the United States,” he said.
Mr Trump, who earlier accused Mr Zelensky of not reading the latest US proposals, said Russia had the “upper hand” in the conflict, in an interview with Politico published on Tuesday.
He also accused Kyiv of “using war” to avoid elections, which have been postponed under the imposition of martial law since Russia invaded its neighbour.
“You know, they talk about a democracy, but it gets to a point where it’s not a democracy anymore,” Mr Trump said.
Without martial law, a Ukrainian presidential election would have been due in March 2024.
Mr Zelensky on Monday held talks with European leaders in London and Brussels. On Tuesday, he met with Pope Leo and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Washington’s proposals involved Ukraine surrendering land that Russia has not captured — the entire Donbas region — in return for security promises that fall short of Kyiv’s aspirations to join NATO.
Mr Zelensky on Monday said Washington’s 28-point plan had been reduced to 20 points after US-Ukraine talks at the weekend.
He pointed to the land issue and international security guarantees as two of the main sticking points.
“Do we envision ceding territories? We have no legal right to do so, under Ukrainian law, our constitution and international law. And we don’t have any moral right either,” Mr Zelensky said.
“The key is to know what our partners will be ready to do in the event of new aggression by Russia. At the moment, we have not received any answer to this question,” he said.
During a televised event on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin called Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region Russia’s “historical territory”.
“This territory is important; it is our historical territory, absolutely,” he said.
Mr Trump has blown hot and cold on Ukraine since returning to office in January, initially chastising Mr Zelensky for not being grateful for US support.
But he was also frustrated that efforts to persuade Mr Putin to end the war had failed to produce results, and he recently slapped new sanctions on Russian oil firms.
European allies have expressed solidarity with Ukraine.
Ms Meloni, who positions herself as a bridge between Mr Trump and Europe, has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine since Russia’s invasion, although one of her coalition allies, Matteo Salvini’s League party, is more sceptical of aid for Kyiv.
Italy has sent weapons to Ukraine, but only for use inside the country. Ms Meloni has also ruled out sending troops in a possible monitoring force proposed by Britain and France.
The Italian government last week postponed a decision on renewing military aid to Ukraine, with the current authorisation due to end on December 31. Mr Salvini has reportedly questioned whether it is necessary in light of current talks.
However, Ms Meloni at the time insisted that “as long as there’s a war, we’ll do what we can, as we’ve always done to help Ukraine defend itself”.
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