Ukraine has presented the U.S. with a revised 20-point framework to end the war with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday, adding that the issue of ceding territory remains a major sticking point in negotiations.
Speaking to reporters in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said Washington was proposing, as a compromise, the creation of a ‘free economic zone’ in the Ukraine-controlled parts of eastern Donbas, which Russia has demanded Ukraine hand over.
"They see it as Ukrainian troops withdrawing from the Donetsk region, and the compromise is supposedly that Russian troops will not enter this part of Donetsk region. They do not know who will govern this territory," he said, adding that Russia is referring to it as a "demilitarised zone".
However, Zelenskyy said there was still no common understanding on the land issue and that Ukrainians should vote on any territorial concessions in a referendum.
Kyiv, in the latest round of frantic shuttle diplomacy, is seeking to balance out a U.S.-backed plan whose original version was seen as too favourable to Moscow.
Zelenskyy added that Russia’s withdrawal from small areas in the northeastern Kharkiv and Sumy regions, as well as the southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, was under discussion.
He said the contact lines in the partially occupied southern regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson would be frozen where they currently stand.
The U.S. has also proposed potential joint governance of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the largest in Europe, which is currently held by Russia and which Moscow wants to retain under its control.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he will send a representative to participate in talks in Europe on Ukraine this weekend if there's a good chance of making progress on a ceasefire deal.
"We'll see whether or not we attend the meeting," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
"We'll be attending the meeting on Saturday in Europe if we think there's a good chance. And we don't want to waste a lot of time if we think it's negative," Trump added.
Ukraine is under mounting U.S. pressure to secure a deal with Russia, which has stepped up advances along the frontline in recent months and renewed large-scale attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
Following reports that President Trump had set a Christmas deadline for Ukraine to accept the proposal, Zelenskyy said Washington had not given Kyiv a strict timeline.
"I think they really wanted, or perhaps still want, to have a complete understanding of where we stand with this agreement by Christmas," he said.
Alongside the 20-point framework, the wider peace plan will include separate documents on security guarantees, intended to prevent a future Russian offensive, and on rebuilding Ukraine’s war-damaged cities.
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Ukraine is monitoring “unusual activity” along its border with Belarus, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video statement released on Saturday (2 May). He warned that Kyiv is ready to respond if necessary amid continued regional tensions linked to Russia’s war.
A fresh Ukrainian drone strike on Russia’s vital Black Sea port of Tuapse has sparked a massive fire at the sea terminal, local officials confirmed early on Friday.
An overnight Russian drone attack on Ukraine's southern city of Odesa has wounded at least 10 people, including two children, and inflicted severe structural damage across several residential neighbourhoods, Ukrainian officials confirmed on Monday morning.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in Azerbaijan for talks with President Ilham Aliyev, holding meetings in Gabala on Saturday (25 April) during a working visit to the country.
A 77-year-old man and a 63-year-old woman were killed on Monday (4 May), after a man drove a car into a crowd on a pedestrianised street in the the eastern German city of Leipzig, authorities said.
Iran warned Armerican forces on Monday (4 May) not to enter the Strait of Hormuz, after the U.S. said it had launched a mission to try and reopen the sea passage. Meanwhile, Iran's Foreign Minister said there was no military solution to the Middle East conflict.
China has moved to block U.S. sanctions on five of its oil refineries, in a fresh escalation of tensions over trade and energy policy.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will “soon be reviewing” a new 14-point proposal sent by Iran, casting doubt on the chances of a deal after Tehran called for security guarantees, an end to naval blockades and a halt to the war across the region, including in Lebanon.
Ukraine has launched a new wave of drone strikes on Sunday (3 May) across Russia, hitting key infrastructure and causing casualties in several regions, officials on both sides said.
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Austria has expelled three diplomats from the Russian Embassy over concerns that satellite installations on diplomatic buildings could be used for espionage.
A Russian missile strike killed six people in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region on Monday (4 May), as Kyiv reported fresh attacks on energy infrastructure and a sharp rise in drone strikes on ports.
Australia and Japan agreed on Monday to deepen cooperation on energy and critical minerals, as Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi met her Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese during a three-day visit.
Australia began public hearings on Monday in an inquiry into the Bondi Beach mass shooting in December, with Jewish Australians giving evidence about their experiences of rising domestic antisemitism.
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