KYIVE – Ukraine is preparing to present a revised peace plan to the White House, as it seeks to avoid making territorial concessions to Russia. Kyiv is set to propose alternatives after President Volodymyr Zelensky again ruled out surrendering land, saying he had “no right” to do so under Ukrainian or international law.
He made the comments after meeting European and Nato leaders on Monday, part of a push to deter the US from backing a peace deal which includes major concessions for Ukraine, and which allies fear would leave it vulnerable to a future invasion.
The Ukrainian president told a news conference his team could send a new proposal to the Americans as soon as Tuesday, AFP news agency reported.
Zelensky’s ongoing diplomatic tour of Europe follows intensive talks between US and Ukrainian negotiators over the weekend which failed to produce a deal to which Kyiv could agree.
On Sunday, Trump indicated that he viewed Zelensky as the main obstacle to securing a peace deal, something he has made a key foreign policy goal and which the president claimed he would be able to achieve rapidly during the 2024 presidential election campaign.
He told reporters that Russia was “fine” with the peace plan outlined to both sides by the US, but that he was a “little disappointed that Zelensky hasn’t read it”. Almost simultaneously, Zelensky said he was waiting to briefed by his chief negotiator Rustem Umerov following three days of discussions with his US counterparts in Miami.
“Some issues can only be discussed in person,” said Zelensky, ahead of a meeting in London attended by UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
The summit was widely viewed as a show of support for Ukraine as it seeks to resist White House pressure.
Trump called Europe’s leaders “weak” in an interview with Politico published on Tuesday. On whether Europe could help end Russia’s war with Ukraine, the US president said: “They talk, but they don’t produce, and the war just keeps going on and on.” No 10 said there had been an agreement that the US-led talks represented a “critical moment” to ramp up support for Ukraine, and repeated calls for a “just and lasting peace… which includes robust security guarantees”. But it is not yet clear what form that would take. While the UK and France have proposed deploying international troops in Ukraine, several key defence players in Europe, including Germany and Italy, have expressed scepticism about that idea. It is also not clear to what extent the US would be willing to underpin any future defence arrangements for Ukraine.
Following talks in London, Zelensky flew to Brussels to meet Nato chief Mark Rutte and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen, and will meet Prime Minister Georgia Meloni in Italy on Tuesday.
On the subject of surrendering land, Zelensky said: “Russia is insisting that we give up territories, but we don’t want to cede anything.”
He continued: “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.”
Zelensky has long maintained that any changes to Ukraine’s borders would need to be authorised by a public referendum.
On Tuesday, Russia’s chief of general staff, Valery Gerasimov, said the country’s forces were advancing along Ukraine’s front line and were targeting Myrnohrad, close to the strategically important city of Pokrovsk.
Russia claims to have captured Pokrovsk, which would nudge Putin closer to taking full control of Ukraine’s Donbas, made up of the neighbouring regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Ukraine has denied this, and a command centre showed the BBC live video of Ukrainian soldiers still fighting in the city during a recent visit.
