Summary of the day so far
We are pausing our coverage of today’s developments on Ukraine here, but will resume it if there are any major news lines emerging later in the day.
Here is our summary of the day so far:
Ukraine has significantly amended the US “peace plan” for Ukraine, removing some of Russia’s maximalist demands, people familiar with the negotiations said, as European leaders warned on Monday that no deal could be reached quickly.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy may meet Donald Trump in the White House later this week, they indicated, amid a flurry of calls between Kyiv and Washington.
US president Donald Trump said earlier today that “something good just may be happening” with “big progress” in the talks on Ukraine (12:01).
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine was working with the US to look for “compromises that strengthen, not weaken, us” and “and will continue explaining how dangerous it is to pretend that aggression is something one can simply overlook and move on” (9:49).
Meanwhile, numerous European leaders welcomed “the new momentum” in talks on ending the Russian invasion on Ukraine, but insisted that several issues needed to addressed (15:47), with the next month’s European Council summit billed as a moment to make some “key decisions” (17:01).
In a particularly striking reaction, Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson insisted that Russia “must be forced to the negotiating table” (15:09) as he joined Germany’s Friedrich Merz and Poland’s Donald Tusk in calling for more pressure to be put on Moscow (12:54, 13:06).
Meanwhile, Czech president Petr Pavel warned that Ukraine needed to be closely listened to during any peace talks, as it’s exclusion from key decisions would prompt parallels with the 1938 Munich Agreement, saying: “it is their territory, it is their country, their people, their lives” (10:43).
Europe 'had some key decisions to make' on Ukraine at December summit, Irish PM says
The Irish prime minister, Micheál Martin, said that the European leaders “had some key decisions to make” at the upcoming EU summit in December when it comes to further support and financing for Ukraine.
Speaking after today’s EU discussions on the peace plan for Ukraine, Martin said the December meeting “will be a very key moment and important meeting in respect of Europe’s contribution to all of this, particularly in terms of the financing of Ukraine into the future and related issues.”
He said the leaders had “a good discussion” earlier today, but the December meeting will be critical for translating it into action, “and a lot of work has to be done in advance of that meeting.”
“Meanwhile, strong support for President Zelensky emanating from the meeting; important to continue to support him in his negotiations and in his endeavours,” he said.
He also insisted that Europe played a role in the discussions about the peace settlement, saying:
“Clearly, Europe is at the table because of key issues that have been identified, in terms of the future financing of Ukraine, in terms of Ukraine’s membership of the European Union, which we’ve been strong advocates for, and also in terms of, ultimately, the security underpinning of any post war scenario.”
