US officials are headed to Berlin for a high-stakes sit-down Monday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders – as Washington presses for an elusive peace deal to end the deadly war in Ukraine.
The White House said this week it would only send officials to talks if enough progress had been made, indicating President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and US envoy Steve Witkoff’s visit to Germany could be a step closer toward a truce.
Talks between the UK, France, Germany and Ukraine scheduled for Saturday in Paris were canceled with no explanation given. The US had indicated it was unsure whether it planned to send a delegation to the meeting.
Kyiv and European leaders delivered their revisions to Washington’s proposed peace plan this week, after a draft leaked last month — widely viewed as favorable to Russia — had Ukraine cede territory, renounce its NATO ambitions and limit the size of its military.
Territorial concessions remain the biggest sticking point — with Russian strongman Vladimir Putin demanding the entire mineral-rich Donbas region, including portions of Donetsk and Luhansk that he hasn’t been unable to seize in nearly four years of fighting — something Zelensky has called unacceptable.
The Ukrainian leader said Washington has floated a “compromise vision” that would see both Ukrainian and Russian troops withdraw from eastern Donetsk, where Moscow occupies roughly 80% of the region, according to reports this week.
“They discussed the issue of a ‘free economic zone.’ The Americans call it that, while the Russians refer to it as a ‘demilitarized zone,’” Zelensky said, adding that “serious” questions persist about who would manage and police such a zone and assure that Russian troops actually withdraw from it.
The idea of establishing some sort of demilitarized zone was also included in Ukraine’s latest peace proposal, according to reports.
The US wants a “full understanding” by Christmas of the peace plan, Zelensky said.
But any territorial decisions must be made by Ukrainians themselves, he added this week, either through elections or a referendum.
On security guarantees, a possible NATO Article 5-style clause involving Washington, aimed at reassuring Kyiv in the event of another Russian attack, without Ukraine formally joining the alliance is being considered, a French official told Reuters Friday.
In a notable shift, President Trump said earlier this week the US was ready to take part in providing security assurances for Ukraine, saying it might be a “necessary factor in getting it done,” referring to a peace deal.
Meanwhile, bloodshed in the deadliest conflict since World War II continued Saturday.
At least two Russians were killed in the country’s southwestern Saratov region, after a Ukrainian attack on a Russian oil refinery, with explosions heard throughout the night.
Kyiv has repeatedly targeted the refinery, owned by Russian state oil giant Rosneft, in recent weeks.
In Ukraine, three people were killed overnight in the contested Donetsk region as close to 400 people were forced to evacuate the frontline, Gov. Vadym Filashkin said on Telegram.
Another 35 others were wounded across the war-torn country, as Russia fired 450 drones and 30 missiles. Parts of Kyiv lost power again following Moscow’s targeted assaults on its energy infrastructure.
More than a million people were without electricity Saturday, said Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko.
The main strike targeted the south of the country, and the Odesa region, Zelensky said on X Saturday.
“It is important that everyone now sees what Russia is doing – every step they take in terror against our people, all their attacks, for this is clearly not about ending the war,” he added.
“They still aim to destroy our state and inflict maximum pain on our people. … For all our diplomatic efforts to yield results, pressure must be applied to the aggressor so that they end the war they started.”
With Post Wires
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