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Moscow says European counterproposal ‘does not work for us’ in sign that both sides remain far apart
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A Russian drone swarm struck homes in Kyiv in the early hours of today, forcing residents to flee apartment buildings and injuring four.
The latest attack on the Ukrainian capital came at a key moment in talks to end the war, with Volodymyr Zelensky welcoming amendments to Donald Trump‘s 28-point peace plan following meetings in Geneva.
Trump had also hailed the progress made in those talks, writing on Truth Social that “something good just may be happening”.
But hours later the Kremlin sank any hope that the framework of a peace deal could be agreed upon by Thanksgiving, with a Russian official saying Europe’s proposed amendments were not constructive and did not work for Moscow.
In a sign that both sides remain far apart, the Kremlin said that Europe’s demands for Ukraine would not be accepted by Vladimir Putin but said that an earlier proposal by the US seemed “quite acceptable to us”.
The US president had given Ukraine until Thanksgiving, this Thursday, to agree to a plan – but US officials later indicated that deadline could change.
A White House spokesperson has denied president Donald Trump is favouring one side over another, after his peace proposals appeared heavily weighted in Russia’s favour.
Officials on Monday said progress was made in urgent weekend talks on amending the draft, but the Kremlin said it hadn’t seen the changes.
An adviser to Ukraine’s president who attended the talks in Geneva between US and Ukrainian officials told the Associated Press they managed to discuss almost all the plan’s points, and one unresolved issue is that of territory, which can only be decided at the head of state level. Ukraine and allies have ruled out territorial concessions.
Russia launched a wave of attacks on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv early today, striking residential buildings and energy infrastructure, according to video footage and local authorities.
A residential building in the central Pechersk district and another in Kyiv’s eastern district of Dniprovskyi were badly damaged, mayor Vitali Kitschko said.
Video footage posted to Telegram showed a large fire spread through multiple floors of the nine-story building in Dniprovskyi. At least four people were injured, the head of Kyiv city administration, Tymor Tkachenko said.
Ukraine’s energy ministry said that energy infrastructure had been hit, without specifying what type or the extent of the damage.
The Russian attack followed talks between US and Ukraine representatives in Geneva on Sunday about a US-Russia brokered peace plan.
US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll arrived in Abu Dhabi for peace talks with Ukraine’s military intelligence chief and a Russian delegation, the Financial Times reported.
Driscoll and the Russian side began talks on Monday night, the report said, citing two people familiar with the matter.
Three people were killed and 10 injured in a Ukrainian attack on Russia’s Rostov region, governor Yuri Slyusar said this morning.
The Russian defence ministry said that 249 Ukrainian drones were downed over Russian regions overnight.
At least six people were injured in Russia’s Krasnodar region as a result of a drone attack, governor Veniamin Kondratyev said.
Europe is taking baby steps towards walking away from America and ending the Russian threat against its democracies. But the time has come to take giant leaps for mankind.
The first move is immediate Nato membership for Ukraine, for Georgia and for Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The idea would probably be vetoed immediately by the US, along with Hungary and Slovakia, which are run by pro-Putin autocrats.
But a non-Nato, Nato-style alliance of the West would be a powerful entity that would give Putin pause for thought if it acted together and with the sort of confidence the Kremlin has shown on the world stage.
From Vladimir Putin down, Russians believe in their deepest core that “the West” is their enemy.
World affairs editor Sam Kiley says there is a powerful alternative:
President Donald Trump has claimed that “big progress” is being made in negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.
The US and Ukraine sought on Monday to narrow gaps in a peace plan proposed by Washington on Friday that was criticised as pro-Russian. European leaders have responded with a counter-proposal that reasserts Ukraine’s demands.
It includes respect for Ukraine’s territorial integrity, freedom to advance its Nato ambitions and EU membership aspirations and maintain a large military to deter the threat of future Russian aggression.
Several countries and high-profile individuals are involved in the discussions, which have resulted in public disagreements.
The Independent looks at some of the key characters below:
Ukrainian officials have made significant amendments to a US peace plan that was previously criticised as being too close to Moscow’s demands, people aware of the negotiations in Geneva yesterday said.
Volodymyr Zelensky’s representatives removed some of Russia’s maximalist demands from what was a 28-point plan, officials were quoted by the Guardian as saying.
The negotiations were led by the US secretary of state Marco Rubio and Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak. They now include only 19 points, multiple media outlets reported.
Hopes of reaching a breakthrough in the war with Russia this week were quashed on Monday after a European proposal discussed by the United States and Ukraine was described by Moscow as “completely unconstructive”.
Washington and Kyiv said in a joint statement they had drafted a “refined peace framework” after talks in Geneva on Sunday. Although there were no specifics, the dialogue received a cautious welcome from some of Ukraine’s allies.
However, the Kremlin said that the European counterproposal to a 28-point US peace plan for Ukraine was not helpful.
“The European plan, at first glance … is completely unconstructive and does not work for us,” Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters in Moscow.
Volodymyr Zelensky has said a proposed peace plan now under discussion with the United States and Europe has incorporated “correct” points, but sensitive issues were to be discussed with US president Donald Trump.
“As of now, after (talks in) Geneva, there are fewer points, no longer 28, and many correct elements have been incorporated into this framework,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address.
“Our team has already reported today on the new draft of steps and this is truly the right approach. The sensitive issues, the most delicate points, I will discuss with President Trump,” he said.
Zelensky said the process of producing a final document would be difficult and Ukraine appreciated the assistance offered by other countries and the “constructive” US approach.
He said it was in Russia’s interests to disrupt the peace process and warned Ukrainians to pay particular attention to air raid alerts in the days and weeks to come “as we fully understand who we are dealing with”.
Zelensky said that if negotiations proceeded on resolving the war “there must be no missiles, no massive strikes on Ukraine and our people. This is something that those who are strong in the world can ensure.”
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