Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russia of blocking efforts to end the war, saying Moscow continues to reject calls for a ceasefire.
“We see that Russia rebuffs numerous calls for a ceasefire and has not yet determined when it will stop the killing. This complicates the situation,” he said in a statement on X, reports BBC.
Zelenskyy will travel to Washington on Monday for talks with US president Donald Trump, who has pledged to push for a permanent peace deal rather than a temporary ceasefire after his summit with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that a lasting settlement would be “the best way to end the horrific war”, arguing that ceasefires often collapse.
Ukraine has insisted on a ceasefire as the starting point for any talks, while also demanding credible security guarantees and the return of children allegedly abducted from occupied territories. Zelenskyy has ruled out ceding Donbas, warning that giving up the region could pave the way for further Russian aggression.
Diplomatic sources told CBS that Trump relayed a Russian proposal requiring Ukraine to withdraw from Donetsk in exchange for Moscow freezing its positions in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. European leaders have expressed concern Trump may pressure Kyiv into concessions, but they have cautiously welcomed progress and the prospect of US-backed security guarantees for Ukraine.
German chancellor Friedrich Merz called the US position “significant progress,” while UK prime minister Keir Starmer praised Trump’s efforts but stressed that peace “cannot be decided without Zelenskyy.” European leaders including Merz, French president Emmanuel Macron and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said any settlement must respect international borders.
Reactions in Kyiv have been sombre, with some Ukrainians saying they feel “crushed” by images of Putin being greeted in Alaska. A veteran from Donetsk said the red carpet and ceremonial treatment made “no sense.”
Zelenskyy’s White House visit on Monday will mark his first meeting with Trump since a tense exchange earlier this year, though the two appeared to patch things up in April during Pope Francis’s funeral.