Ukraine: Wadephul hails Geneva talks as European success

The head of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Estonian Parliament, Marko Mihkelson, told DW on Monday that the Donald Trump's peace plan, designed to end the war in Ukraine, would not bring about lasting peace and fits Moscow's "strategic goals."

"They would like to destroy the sovereignty of Ukraine. And also to destroy European security," Mihkelson said.

Trump's peace plan includes Ukraine not joining NATO but Russia's "shadow war against the West" has included "numerous sabotage acts, hybrid warfare, interference into our political realities" Mihkelson said, which "is why we have to very strongly commit to a united position of NATO allies, Western allies, understanding what is at stake and also supporting Ukraine and working in the name of a just and lasting peace in Europe."

As talks on a US-led peace plan continue in Geneva, the chairman of the Ukrainian parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, on Monday once again laid out Kyiv's red lines.

"No recognition of Russian occupation of Ukrainian territory, no limits on Ukraine's defense forces, no veto on Ukraine's right to choose future alliances," Stefanchuk told the International Crimea Platform summit being held in Stockholm.

While he stressed Ukraine's readiness to end the war, Stefanchuk emphasized concessions on language, religion and national identity were off limits.

The president of the European Council, Antonio Costa, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have both noted progress in peace efforts for Ukraine following Sunday's talks in Geneva.

"There is a new momentum in peace negotiations," Costa said after a meeting in Angola with leaders of all 27 EU member states to discuss Ukraine on the sidelines of an EU-African Union summit.

"Yesterday’s meeting in Geneva between the United States, Ukraine, the European Union institutions and European representatives marked significant progress," he added.

 He also stressed, however, that "issues that concern directly the European Union, such as sanctions, enlargement or immobilized assets, require the full involvement and decision by the European Union."

He said the bloc was committed to providing support to Kyiv: "Ukraine has chosen Europe and Europe will stand by Ukraine."

Von der Leyen also spoke of  the Geneva talks having delivered "a solid basis for moving forward."

She also named the EU's core principles regarding Ukraine's future.

"Ukraine’s territory and sovereignty must be respected; only Ukraine, as a sovereign country, can make decisions regarding its armed forces; the choice of their destiny is in their own hands," she said.

"I also want to emphasize Europe’s centrality in the country’s future," she said.

But von der Leyen also said she had raised the subject of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia during the invasion at the Luanda meeting.

"Each and every one of them must come home. I was glad to see this topic resonated with the leaders," she said

While a meeting between European Union (EU) and African Union (AU) leaders was to focus on investment, European leaders seemed largely preoccupied with diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

Click here for more information about the EU-AU summit in the Angolan capital, Luanda.

Polish prosecutors say thay have arrested a Ukrainian man who they suspect of involvement in sabotaging a rail track at the behest of Russia.  

Poland has already charged two other Ukrainians in absentia over the blast on the line connecting Warsaw to the Ukrainian border.

Those two men, who Poland has identified only as Oleksandr K. and Yehenii I., are said to have fled to Belarus. Poland is seeking their extradition from that country, which is a close ally of Russia.

"The evidence shows that in September 2025, Volodymyr B. [the third suspect] drove Yevhenii I. to the area of planned sabotage operations, allowing him to do reconnaissance in the area and choose the place where the explosives would be planted," prosecutors said in a statement published by a spokesperson.

"The investigation continues," they said.

Poland is closing the last Russian consulate in its territory and deploying thousands of troops to protect infrastructure in response to the incident, for which Russia has denied all responsibility.

The sabotaged railway line is used to carry some aid to neighboring Ukraine, of which Poland has been a strong ally since the start of Russia's invasion in February 2022.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot has described talks held in Geneva with the US over Ukraine as "constructive and useful."

"Work continues to create the conditions for a peace that respects the sovereignty of Ukraine and guarantees the interests and security of Europe," Barrot said in a post on X.

Barrot said he had also discussed the talks with his European and Ukrainian counterparts.

"A united and coordinated EU position" is crucial for ensuring that talks on ending Russia's invasion of Ukraine produce good results,  European Council President Antonio Costa said on Monday after speaking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"Spoke with Zelenskyy ahead of this morning's informal EU leaders' meeting on Ukraine peace efforts, to get his assessment of the situation. A united and coordinated EU position is key in ensuring a good outcome of peace negotiations — for Ukraine and for Europe," Costa wrote on X.

His remarks came ahead of a planned meeting of  EU leaders on the margin of an EU-African Union summit in the Angolan capital, Luanda, to discuss the conflict in Ukraine.

Leaders not present at the summit have been invited via video-conference, a spokesperson for Costa said.

Following his talks with Costa, Zelenskyy also posted on X, thanking Costa for his support.

" It is of great importance that Ukraine is participating in the development of the joint EU position on an equal footing. We appreciate the respect," he wrote.

"We keep working in good faith to achieve peace for Europe," he added.

 
 

A Ukrainian drone was intercepted and downed by Russian air defenses on its way to Moscow on Monday, the city's mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, has said.

Three airports in the Russian capital temporarily restricted incoming and outgoing flights amid the incident.

In a statement, Sobyanin said emergency services were working at the scene of the downed drone.

Domodedovo and Zhukovsky airports both quickly lifted their restrictions, but they were still in effect for airport — the city's largest — as of 1:10 p.m. local time (1010 UTC).

The Kremlin said on Monday that it had not been informed about the outcome of talks between US, Ukrainian and European officials in Geneva at the weekend. 

"We did not receive any information," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

He added, however, that the Kremlin was aware that "adjustments" had been made to a US plan to end the conflict in Ukraine.

Moscow welcomed the initial version of the plan under discussion, which critics said contained several elements favoring Russian demands.

Russia's Defense Ministry said on Monday that 93 Ukrainian drones were downed by air defenses over four regions overnight.

Almost half were destroyed over the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, and others over the Black Sea and the Azov Sea.

The drones were downed over four regions, including 45 over the border Belgorod region, and pthers over the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

Meanwhile, the mayor of the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv said on Telegram that Russian drone strike on the city on Sunday evening killed four people and wounded 17.

The attack came as US, Ukrainian and European officials were in Geneva to discuss a US-proposed plan to end Russia's nearly four-year-long invasion of its neighbor.

Finland's President Alexander Stubb has welcomed reported progress made at meetings between the
US and Ukraine in Geneva on Sunday in a post on X.

Stubb, who said he spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday, warned, however that there were "stil major issues which remain to be resolved."

"Any decision falling in the remit of EU or NATO will be discussed and decided by EU and NATO members in a separate track," he wrote.

The US-proposed peace plan discussed in Geneva foresees a pledge by Ukraine not to join the Western military alliance, while also including proposals that touch on European security, including a cap on Ukraine's armed forces.

These and other elements in the plan that seemed to favor Moscow, some of which have reportedly been amended following the talks, have provoked much criticism from both Kyiv and its European allies.

Finland, which has a long border with Russia, has been a major supporter of Kyiv during Moscow's invasion and recently joined NATO in response to the Russian threat.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that Kyiv would continue to work with its partners fo find compromises on US peace proposals that would strengthen and not weaken his country.

Speaking via video link at a Crimean Platform summit being held in Sweden, Zelenskyy said Russia must pay for the war in Ukraine and that it was crucial to take a decision on using frozen Russian assets.

The EU is divided about whether to use the frozen assets to fund Ukraine, with notably Belgium, which holds the bulk of them, warning of endless legal problems connected with such a move. 

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was upbeat about the talks held with the Ukrainian delegation in Geneva on a US-proposed peace plan, saying "tremendous" progress had been made despite initial wide differences between the two sides.

"I can tell you that the items that remain open are not insurmountable," he said, adding: "I honestly believe we'll get there."

Rubio stressed that any final agreement would "have to be agreed upon by the presidents, and there are a couple of issues that we need to continue to work on" before seeking Russia's agreement.

"Obviously, the Russians get a vote," Rubio said.

Moscow had indicated that it saw the initial 28-point plan put forward by the US administration of President Donald Trump favorably,.

The White House has also called the talks  "highly productive."

In a statement, it said both delegations had agreed that any future agreement must fully respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and deliver a just, lasting peace.

The statement provided few details but said the US and Ukraine agreed to do "intensive work on joint proposals in the coming days."

Sunday's talks in Geneva saw varoius meetings between delegations from the US, Ukraine and Ukraine to discuss a 28-point peace plan put forward by US President Donald Trump.

Ahead of the talks, the plan was criticized heavily, in particular by Ukraine and European leaders, as containing many elements that were seen as concessions to the invading power, Moscow.

These included requiring Ukraine to cede territory, cut its army and pledge never to join the NATO military alliance.

The Ukrainian delegation, led by Andriy Yermak, first met high-level officials from Britain, France and Germany, before talks with the US delegation, which included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, diplomatic envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-Jared Kushner.

Both sides reported positive progress from the talks, though few details have been released.

Rubio, however, remained vague about whether he thought full agreement on a peace deal could by reached by a Thursday deadline set by Trump for approval by Kyiv, saying only "the deadline is we want to get this done as soon as possible."

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has urged European countries to accept a US-backed proposal to end Russia's invasion of its neighbor.

"The 28-point peace plan is a major chance to end the war in Ukraine," Szijjarto said.

He accused Western European countries, without further specifying, of impeding the adoption of the plan.

"Still, some Western European leaders are trying to block it," he said.

He said that Hungary's position on the proposal was "clear," declaring that "every European politician has a duty to support this plan fully and unconditionally, as this is the rational and humane choice."

Hungary's leader, Prime Minister Viktor Orban, is a longtime ally of US President Donald Trump and has voiced strong support for Washington's stated intention to end the war in Ukraine through diplomatic efforts.

Budapest has secured an exemption from US secondary sanctions on the purchase of Russian oil.