Photograph: State Emergency Service of Ukraine/Reuters
Closing summary
Thanks for joining us today. As we close the blog, here’s a quick summation of what we know so far:
Sources are telling both Reuters and the Financial Times that the US is pushing Kyiv to accept a peace plan that was drafted by a mix of Trump administration and Russian officials. The plan, according to those familiar with the matter, is heavily favorable toward Russia and would require Ukraine to cede territory and weaponry and cut its armed forces in half, moves that would potentially leave the country vulnerable to future attacks by Russia.
Meanwhile, Russian strikes on Ukraine continue, with an overnight attack on Ternopil killing 25 and injuring 73. Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said that Ukraine would bring up the overnight Russian attacks at Thursday’s UN security council meeting. And in Russia, Vladimir Putin is passing sweeping laws to bolster defences at home against Ukrainian drone strikes and sabotage operations, reflecting the Kremlin’s expectation of a protracted war.
This comes as Poland responds to the alleged sabotage of its rail infrastructure. Prosecutors have drafted formal charges for two Ukrainians suspected of “sabotage of a terrorist nature” on behalf of Russia over the last weekend’s rail incidents. The army is also working on plans to deploy 10,000 soldiers to protect critical infrastructure across the country to “counteract acts of diversion and raise the level of security for Polish citizens”, said Polish defence minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas addressed the alleged sabotage incidents at a press conference on Wednesday, condemning “increasingly brazen” Russian attacks on EU infrastructure as she called for military mobility. “Military mobility is a critical insurance policy for European security. You hope you never have to use it full capacity, but having it ready ensures more credible deterrence and defence,” she said. The bloc’s “Military Schengen,” formally proposed on Wednesday, seeks to address some of these issues by removing regulatory obstacles, and working on the resilience of key infrastructure.
Elsewhere in Europe, Social Democrats in Denmark suffer sweeping election losses and the Netherlands has suspended it seizure of the Chinese owner chip maker Nexperia. Nexperia was at the heart of a bitter six-week battle between the EU and China that threatened to halt car production.
Reports: US pushing for Ukraine to accept peace plan with major concessions to Russia
Reuters, citing two unnamed sources, is reporting that the US is signalling to Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Ukraine must accept a peace plan that would entail Kyiv giving up territory and weaponry that would potentially leave the country vulnerable to future attacks by Russia.
The plan, according to the Financial Times, was drawn up by a group of Russian and American current and former officials and conveyed to Kyiv this week by US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff.
One unnamed source described the 28 points of the plan as “heavily tilted towards Russia” while another called it “very comfortable” for Vladimir Putin, the Financial Times reports.
The plan would require Ukraine to cede the remainder of the eastern Donbas regions – including land currently under Kyiv control – and cut the size of its armed forces by half. It would also put forth long-standing Kremlin political objectives such as Russian being recognized as an official state language and the local branch of the Russian Orthodox Church being granted official status. The plan would also call for Kyiv to agree to abandon key categories of weaponry that would include the rollback of US military assistance.
Putin has made similar demands of Kyiv since the start of the Russian invasion nearly four years ago, but Ukraine has repeatedly said it would not accept them.
Zelenskyy, who was holding talks in Turkey on Wednesday with President Tayyip Erdogan, is scheduled to meet with US Army officials in Kyiv on Thursday.
