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Ukraine — Initial drafts of the U.S. proposals for a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia meet many of Kyiv's demands, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday, although he suggested that neither side in the nearly four-year war is likely to get everything it wants in talks to reach an agreement.
"Overall, it seems pretty solid at this stage," the Ukrainian leader said about recent talks with U.S. officials who are trying to guide neighboring countries toward commitments.
"There are some things we are probably not ready for, and I'm sure there are things the Russians are not ready for either," Zelenskyy told reporters in Kyiv.
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US President Donald Trump has been pushing for a peace deal for months. However, negotiations have run into strongly conflicting demands from Moscow and Kyiv. But US envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday that he held "productive and constructive" talks in Florida with Ukrainian and European representatives.
Zelenskyy said that "almost 90%" of Ukraine's demands have been incorporated into the draft agreements. The backbone of the proposed agreement is a 20-point plan, he noted. There is also a framework document on security guarantees between Kyiv, European countries and Washington, as well as a separate document on bilateral security guarantees granted by the United States to Ukraine. Zelenskyy mentioned several key points, such as the Ukrainian army remaining at a peacetime level of 800,000; membership in the European Union; and European forces, under the leadership of France and the United Kingdom and with "backing" from Washington, ensuring "the security of Ukraine in the air, on land and at sea". "Some key countries will provide presence in these domains; others will contribute to energy security, finance, air raid shelters, and so on," added the Ukrainian president. Ukraine is arguing that the bilateral document with the United States should be reviewed by the US Congress, and keep some details and classified annexes, Zelenskyy said. The US team is now in talks with Russian envoys, and Washington has asked that details not be disclosed, he added. Ukrainian forces bombed an oil terminal, a pipeline, two parked jet fighters, and two ships in a series of attacks on Russian soil, officials said on Monday. The attacks are part of an ongoing campaign to disrupt the Russian war effort and sow fear behind the front lines, where outnumbered Ukrainian troops are struggling to contain the Russian army after nearly four years of war. The attacks also seek to undermine President Vladimir Putin's attempt to show that Russia is negotiating from a position of military strength in the US-led peace efforts, which have yet to achieve a breakthrough on key points. The assassination of a Russian general with a car bomb in Moscow on Monday - investigators suspect Ukraine was behind it - could be another example of Kyiv choosing surprise targets. Ukrainian partisans set fire to two Russian jet fighters in an operation on Sunday night at a base near Lipetsk, a city in western Russia, according to Ukrainian military intelligence. The Russian Defense Ministry said only that its forces shot down 41 Ukrainian drones overnight, three of them over the Krasnodar region. Meanwhile, Russian forces continued to target Ukraine's energy sector, aiming to deprive civilians of heating and running water during the freezing winter. Russia has attempted to leave Ukraine without energy throughout the war. Kyiv says this tactic seeks to weaponize winter. The energy infrastructure in five regions was attacked overnight, the Ukrainian Energy Ministry said. Russia attacked Ukraine with 86 drones overnight, said Ukraine's air force. Ukrainian forces curbed 58 of them, it stated.
