US and Russian officials have quietly drafted a new plan to end the war in Ukraine that would require Kyiv to surrender territory and severely limit the size of its military, it was reported on Wednesday as Russian drone and missile strikes killed at least 25 people in the city of Ternopil. […]
The Financial Times and Reuters reported that the proposal would require Ukraine to cede territory it controls in the east of the country and halve the size of its military, conditions that the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has in the past called non-starters. Other conditions include limiting US military assistance and categories of armaments used by the Ukrainian military.
The draft plan, which was reportedly developed by Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, and the Kremlin adviser Kirill Dmitriev, would force draconian measures on Ukraine that would give Russia unprecedented control over the country’s military and political sovereignty. The plan is likely to be viewed as surrender in Kyiv. […]
Zelenskyy, who met the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on Wednesday in what he described as an effort to “reinvigorate negotiations” and secure a “just peace” for Ukraine, urged Kyiv’s allies to intensify pressure on Russia to end its nearly four-year invasion, including by providing more air-defence missiles. Läs artikel