Ukraine 'ready to work' with US on plan to end war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday that Ukraine was "geared up for clear and honest work" as he pledged to engage with US peace proposals — without disrupting ongoing diplomatic efforts.

"Ukraine needs peace and Ukraine will do everything so that no one in the world can say we are upending diplomacy. This is important," Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address, but said Kyiv would issue no "rash" statements.

"The number one task for everyone … is a constructive diplomatic process with America and all our partners," he continued. "It is vital to have stable support for our army and all our planned defense operations and deep strikes."

After having a "very serious conversation" with a "high-level [US] delegation," Zelenskyy said: "The American side presented points of a plan to end the war — their vision. And I outlined our key principles: a real peace which will not be broken by a third invasion, a dignified peace with terms which respect our independence."

Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk tells DW why Kyiv insists on EU involvement in any peace deal with Russia, even as US President Donald Trump has apparently backed a fresh proposal seemingly giving in to Moscow's demands. 

Watch the entire interview here:

Senior Russian army commanders on Thursday claimed that their troops had captured the small Ukrainian city of Kupiansk, 120 kilometers (75 miles) away from the major city of Kharkiv in the northeastern Kharkiv region.

Sergei Kuzovlev, commander of Russia's western troop grouping, told President Vladimir Putin in televised comments that Russian forces has "completed the liberation of the city of Kupiansk," which he described as a "key cog in Ukraine's defenses."

The chief of Russia's general staff, Valery Gerasimov, added that Russian troops were "continuing to destroy Ukrainian armed forces units surrounded on the left bank of the Oskil River."

Kupiansk, which had a pre-war population of around 55,000, is a key road and rail hub and has been on the frontline ever since the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022. It initially fell to Russian forces on the first day of the offensive but was recaptured in a Ukrainian counter-offensive a few months later and has since become an important logistical hub for Ukraine.

The Ukrainian military on Thursday evening denied that Kupiansk had been captured.

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists that President Putin had "visited one of the command posts for the western troop grouping and held a meeting with the chief of staff." It wasn't clear whether the command post was in Russia or in occupied Ukraine.

Putin was reportedly briefed on the military situation in the cities of Kramatorsk, Kostyantynivka and Pokrovsk, key Ukrainian strongholds further south in the Donetsk region. General Gerasimov claimed that Russian forces now control 70% of Pokrovsk, a claim the Ukrainian armed forces described as "false."

The Ukrainian government said on Thursday that it was prepared to engage with what it called "draft" proposals drawn up by the United States to end the ongoing Russian invasion . 

But other senior officials in Kyiv have alled the suggestions "absurd" and a "provocation."

"The President of Ukraine has officially received a draft plan from the American side which, according to the American side's assessment, could invigorate diplomacy," Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office said in a statement.

"We are ready now to work constructively with the American side and our partners in Europe and around the world to achieve peace as the result."

In a post on Telegram after meeting with US Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said Ukrainian and US teams would "work on the points of the plan to end the war." 

The precise proposals have not been published but media outlets including the AFP news agency have reported that the plan echoes many of Russia's most maximalist demands for ending the war, including the ceding of territory which is still controlled by Ukraine.

Following a meeting with US army officials in Kyiv, Zelenskyy's office said, "it was agreed to work on the plan's points to ensure a dignified end to the war," but other senior Ukrainian figures dismissed the proposals.

"There is nothing concrete about this next 'peace plan,'" said Oleksandr Merezhko, chairman of the parliamentary committee on foreign policy, telling the Ukrainian Interfax news agency that the suggestions were "a Russian provocation to disorient Ukraine's allies and stir up society." 

He accused US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Kremlin representative Kirill Dmitriev, who have reportedly drawn up the proposals, of "putting forward this absurd plan just to remind people of their existence and pretend that they are doing something."

On Wednesday, Ukraine's first deputy foreign minister, Sergiy Kyslytsya, dismissed suggestions of peace proposals as "unrealistic."

Senior officials from the Trump administration met in recent days with representatives of the Ukrainian government to discuss a fresh peace proposal to end the war in Ukraine, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday.

Reports emerged this week that a new proposal was being negotiated between Washington and Moscow without Kyiv's involvement, which would reportedly entail Ukraine having to cede territory currently occupied by Russia.

Leavitt told a press conference that the plan, which has been backed by US President Donald Trump, is "good for both Russia and Ukraine, and we believe that it should be acceptable to both sides."

The White House spokesperson added that the plan is "ongoing and it's in flux."

Leavitt also said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House special envoy Steve Witkoff were involved in the discussions.

German Foreign Minister Johannes Wadephul said he held a phonecall with US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

Wadephul discussed "our various current efforts to end Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and thus finally put an end to the immeasurable human suffering," the foreign minister said in a statement.

"Both colleagues emphasized the importance of close coordination with Germany and our European partners, which we are fulfilling at all levels," he added.

Wadephul said that winter now setting in, attacks on energy infrastructure must come to a halt in order to shield civilians from the cold. Following that, talks on a permanent ceasefire must be held without delay, Germany's top diplomat said.

Wadephul's statement comes amid reports that the US and Russia have agreed on a peace proposal for the war in Ukraine, which would reportedly require Ukraine to cede large swathes of territory.

The reports have prompted concerns from Kyiv and its European allies, who have repeatedly insisted that any peace deal must be approved by Ukraine and the EU.

The EU's foreign policy and security chief Kaja Kallas has responded to reports that the US and Russia have agreed on a peace plan for the war in Ukraine.

After meeting with Kyiv representatives and EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Thursday, Kallas said the EU has a "two-point plan" to end the war.

That plan, Kallas said, consists of weakening Russia and supporting Ukraine.

"If Russia really wanted peace they would have accepted the unconditional ceasefire offer already in March," Kallas stressed.

"Russia has repeatedly paid lip service for peace talks and previous talks fell apart because Russia never made real commitments," she said, adding that "the pressure must be on the aggressor, not the victim." 

Kallas also said that to that end the EU plans to impose more sanctions on Russia. In particular, the EU will continue to go after Russia's so-called shadow fleet of vessels and its enablers.

"The data is very clear, the export of Russian crude oil is the lowest it has been in months. Russian tax revenues from oil are the lowest since the war started," Kallas said, claiming that sanctions against Russia are working.

Ukraine has said it received 1,000 bodies of what Russia said were fallen Ukrainian soldiers.

"Investigators from law enforcement bodies, together with expert agencies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, will soon conduct all necessary examinations and identify the repatriated bodies," Kyiv's prisoner-of-war coordination center said on Telegram.

The returning of the bodies of dead military servicemen is a rare occasion of cooperation between the two sides.

There have been numerous swaps conducted since the war began, although Kyiv has accused Moscow of returning bodies in a disorderly way and even of sometimes sending the bodies of Russian soldiers, which Moscow has denied.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko held talks with the Secretary of the US Army Dan Driscoll, she wrote on social media.

Driscoll is part of the US delegation of military officials who arrived in Ukraine on Wednesday.

"This visit provides an important opportunity for the senior military officials accompanying the Secretary to assess the situation on the ground and to witness firsthand the consequences of Russian aggression," Svyrydenko wrote on X.

The prime minister called for further sanctions against Russia and "reaffirmed that the US–Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund, initiated by President Trump," saying it was "being successfully implemented."

Following the major Russian strike in the western city of Ternopil on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that 22 people were still missing.

The strike — one of the deadliest on civilians since the war began in February 2022 — killed at least 26 people, including 3 children. 

"All night long, our rescuers worked in Ternopil, and search-and-rescue operations are still ongoing. 22 people are still missing," Zelenskyy said on social media. 

Wednesday's strike ripped through the top two floors of a residential block. Some 200 rescue workers from across the country have been sent to look for survivors, Zelenskyy said.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has reiterated sentiments made by his EU colleagues regarding reports of a peace proposal that was quietly approved US President Trump earlier in the week.

"All negotiations regarding a ceasefire, and indeed any further peaceful development in Ukraine, can only be discussed and negotiated with Ukraine," he said ahead of a foreign affairs council meeting in Brussels.

"And Europe will have to be involved," he added.

Amid reports that the US has approved a ceasefire proposal put together by US and Russian delegations, the European Union's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said that Ukraine and Europe must be "on board."

"For any plan to work, it needs Ukrainians and Europeans on board," Kallas told reporters ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

"We have to understand that in this war, there is one aggressor and one victim. So we haven't heard of any concessions on the Russian side."

The proposal would reportedly see Ukraine cede land and reduce its military. The AFP news agency said it was not clear if President Trump had personally signed off on the proposal, citing a source familiar with it.

"We welcome all meaningful efforts to end this war, but like we have said before it has to be just and lasting," she said.

"If Russia really wanted peace, it could have agreed to an unconditional ceasefire already."

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barret also commented on the reports, saying that peace cannot mean Ukrainian "capitulation," according to AFP.

"Discussions are needed for us to reach a just and durable peace in Ukraine, they should start with a ceasefire on the contact line that allows for orderly discussions on the question of territories and security," he said.

A US delegation led by Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is in Kyiv on a "fact-finding mission", the US Embassy in Kyiv said.

Driscoll, along with Army Chief of Staff General Randy George, will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters news agency.

Driscoll's trip to Ukraine to discuss the country's drone warfare innovations and tactics was in the making for some time, a US official who requested anonymity told Reuters.

The official also said that last week President Trump decided to identify him as a kind of "special representative" to kickstart peace negotiations and execute a fact-finding mission.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is under increasing pressure as a corruption scandal in the energy sector is testing his government's credibility.

An investigation revealed fund embezzlement of funds to the tune of $100 million in the country's energy sector through kickbacks paid by contractors.

Following which, last week, Zelenskyy fired two top officials and imposed sanctions on close associates.

However, calls are growing for him to take more accountability and sack his longtime chief of staff, Andrii Yermak, who many consider to be Ukraine's de facto vice president.

Zelenskyy's critics, as well as allies, are worried the scandal could weaken their parliamentary governing coalition and have said more needs to be done to gain public trust.

"It's really hard to imagine that all this happening at the behest of people from the outside without political support," Anastasia Radina, the head of parliament's anti-corruption committee, said on Facebook on Wednesday.

By not cutting ties with Yermak, Zelenskyy is "provoking an even greater internal crisis," she said.

 A US-backed ceasefire plan to end the war in Ukraine would require Kyiv to give up some land currently controlled by Russian forces and make dramatic cuts to its military, according to reports by the AFP and Reuters news agencies. 

The US wants Ukraine to accept the main points of the peace deal, sources who requested anonymity told Reuters news agency.

The new US plan expects Ukraine to grant Moscow part of eastern Ukraine it does not currently control in return for a US security guarantee for Kyiv and Europe against future Russian aggression, according to an Axios report.

The White House has refused to comment on the matter.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X that Washington "will continue to develop a list of potential ideas for ending this war based on input from both sides of this conflict."

"Ending a complex and deadly war such as the one in Ukraine requires an extensive exchange of serious and realistic ideas. And achieving a durable peace will require both sides to agree to difficult but necessary concessions," Rubio said.

US President Donald Trump has already approved the 28-point plan, NBC News reported late Wednesday. 

Kyiv has not been involved in preparing the proposals, a Ukrainian official told Reuters.

On Telegram, Zelenskyy did not comment on Washington's peace plan but called for effective US leadership to help bring an end to the war that has been dragging on for years now.

Zelenskiy said only the United States and U.S. President Donald Trump "have sufficient strength for the war to finally come to an end."