EPA/ShutterstockPresident Zelensky has said kyiv’s priorities in peace talks to end the war with Russia are to maintain Ukraine’s sovereignty and ensure strong security guarantees.
Zelensky said “the territorial question is the most difficult” as Russia continues to demand that Ukraine give up areas of the eastern Donbas region that it still holds, something kyiv maintains it will never do.
He made the remarks after meeting French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, where he joined a call with European leaders, including those from the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland and Italy.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian and American negotiators wrapped up two days of meetings in Florida as they worked to revise a peace plan seen as favorable to Russia.
The White House struck a positive tone in Monday’s talks, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt saying the administration “feels very optimistic” about reaching an agreement to end the war.
Zelensky was more circumspect, posting in X that the talks were “very constructive” but that there are “some difficult issues that still need to be resolved.”
US special envoy Steve Witkoff, who attended the talks with the Ukrainian delegation, is now heading to Russia, where he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday. They will be joined by President Trump’s son-in-law and advisor, Jared Kushner.
Witkoff has spoken with Zelensky, Macron, chief Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and is expected to convey the outcome of the talks to Putin.
Last week, Putin said the Americans had shown Russia a draft peace plan that could become the “basis” for a future agreement to end the war.
The initial draft of the US-Russia peace plan that circulated in November caused consternation in kyiv and across Europe.
As well as being heavily biased towards Moscow’s demands, it also dictated how several billion of currently frozen Russian assets should be invested in European financial institutions and dictated the conditions of kyiv’s access to EU markets.
But Macron said there is currently “no finalized peace plan to speak of.” He also insisted that any such proposal could only be developed with input from Ukraine and Europe.
European leaders have rushed to get a seat at the negotiating table since the peace plan was leaked and have urged the United States to involve them in drafting any future agreement.
Macron said the territorial issue “could only be finalized by President Zelensky” and noted that the issues of frozen Russian assets, security guarantees and EU membership needed to involve European nations.
But the French leader also praised the Donald Trump administration’s efforts to end the conflict, which began in 2014 with Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and was followed by its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“Now we are waiting for the Russian response: are they willing to stop fighting and make peace? I want to point out that three or four times the Russians have said no,” he added. “So they don’t seem to be in a hurry.”
Throughout the year, Moscow appeared to cooperate with American attempts to end the war or discuss a ceasefire, but several of its demands go directly against Ukraine’s sovereignty and are considered unacceptable by kyiv.
While the issue of territory is the main sticking point, the issue of security guarantees for kyiv has also proven contentious.
kyiv and its European partners are interested in Ukraine receiving security guarantees – such as membership in NATO – that would protect it from being attacked again.
But Russia is vehemently opposed to this and Donald Trump has also ruled out allowing Ukraine to join the military alliance.
Far from the negotiating table, the war continues.
On Monday morning, a Russian missile attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro killed four people and wounded 40, authorities said.
Unconfirmed reports say a ballistic missile was used in the attack.
Videos shared online showed a large explosion on the side of a highway, and local media said a block of offices, cars and shops were hit or severely damaged.
“We are trying to end this war with all our might and in a dignified manner,” Zelensky said in Paris.
“Russia must end this war it started, it is its war and it is up to it to end it.”
The latest diplomatic push comes as Zelensky is embroiled in a serious corruption scandal. His chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, who also led the Ukrainian delegation to the peace talks, resigned on Friday after anti-corruption investigators raided his home, although he has not been charged with a crime. Two cabinet ministers have also been fired.
On Sunday, Trump told reporters on Air Force One that Ukraine had “some tough little problems,” referring to the scandal, and repeated his view that both Russia and Ukraine wanted to end the war.
