KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will hold emergency talks Thursday with leaders and officials from about 30 countries that support Kiev’s efforts to secure fair terms to end its war with Russia.
The leaders of Germany, Britain and France are expected to join a meeting of Ukraine’s allies dubbed a “coalition of the willing” via video link.
Zelensky said the talks were hastily arranged as Kiev officials scrambled to avoid getting caught up in U.S. President Donald Trump’s demands for a quick resolution. European governments are trying to help steer peace talks as they say their security is at risk.
Trump said on Wednesday that he and European leaders discussed the proposal in “pretty strong terms” by phone, adding that Zelensky “had to be realistic” about his country’s position on a peace plan to cede Ukrainian territory to Russia. He did not elaborate.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday that he, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron suggested to Trump that they work with U.S. officials over the weekend to finalize a peace proposal. He said talks could also be held in Berlin early next week, with or without U.S. officials.
Merz added that the main issue to be resolved is “what territories and concessions Ukraine is prepared to make.”
“The work we do together remains extremely difficult. For one simple reason. President Putin relentlessly continues his brutal war against Ukrainian civilians while he apparently buys time for negotiations,” Meltz said.
There are indications that the negotiations are reaching a crossroads. European leaders said in a statement on Wednesday that the talks were at a “critical moment”.
Zelensky said late on Wednesday that Ukraine would conduct bilateral coordination with European countries next week, and EU countries will hold a regular summit in Brussels next weekend.
Russia proposes new security proposals
Trump’s recent efforts to reach reconciliation have taken longer than he would have liked. He initially set a strict deadline for Kyiv to accept the peace plan by Thanksgiving. Previous deadlines for Washington to reach a peace agreement have also passed without a breakthrough.
Russia is also keen to show Trump that it is participating in his peace efforts in the hope of avoiding further US sanctions. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday that Russia had conveyed to Washington “additional proposals on collective security guarantees” that Ukraine and Europe say are needed to deter future aggression.
“We understand that when discussing security guarantees we cannot limit ourselves to Ukraine,” Lavrov said, without providing details of the Kremlin’s proposal.
Putin sees Europe as an obstacle to a peaceful solution, and Lavrov again accused Europe of seeking to prolong the war.
He accused Western Europe of “just thinking about a ceasefire, taking a breather and getting ready for war again against Zelensky.”
Ukrainian drone attacks Russian oil rig, disrupts Moscow flights
Meanwhile, a Ukrainian long-range drone struck a Russian oil drilling platform in the Caspian Sea for the first time, an unnamed security official said. The official was not authorized to speak publicly about the attack.
The oil rig, located in the northern Caspian Sea about 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) from Ukraine, belongs to Lukoil, Russia’s second-largest oil company, the official told The Associated Press. He said the rig suffered four attacks, halting oil and gas production at more than 20 wells.
Separately, Ukraine launched one of the largest drone strikes in its nearly four-year war overnight, forcing flights in and out of all four Moscow airports to be suspended for seven hours. Russia’s Civil Aviation Authority said on Thursday that airports in eight other Russian cities were also facing restrictions.
The Russian Defense Ministry stated that the air defense system intercepted 287 Ukrainian drones in multiple regions of Russia.
Ukraine’s demonstration of its military capabilities deep inside Russia appears to be a rebuttal to the Kremlin’s argument that a Ukrainian incursion would be overwhelming against its smaller neighbor.
Analysts say Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to portray himself as being in a strong position in negotiations. But since launching a full-scale invasion in February 2022, Russia has only occupied about 20% of Ukraine’s territory.
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Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin and Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia contributed to this report.
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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/Russia-ukraine
