10/8/2025–|Last update: 03:07 (Mecca time)
European leaders said – yesterday, Saturday – that the peace path in Ukraine cannot be decided without Kiev and “without a ceasefire or a reduction in hostilities” while Ukrainian President Folodimir Zellinski stressed his refusal to abandon any lands, and called for the need to involve Kiev in any settlement of the war with Russia.
The leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Finland and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Line, issued a joint statement that affirms “their commitment to the principle that states that international borders cannot be changed by force” and that “the current seam must be the starting point of the negotiations.”
Earlier yesterday, Axius quoted a US official as saying that meetings in the British capital – in which US and Ukrainian officials participated – have made great progress towards ending the war in Ukraine.
Russian plan
The American website quoted sources as saying that the meeting aims to try to reach joint positions before an expected meeting next week between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Alaska, the far northwest of the American continent and close to Russia.
In the context, the American “CNN” network quoted Western officials as saying that US officials had informed European leaders and Ukrainian officials of Putin’s plan to stop the war in Ukraine in exchange for major regional concessions from Kiev.
The plan – which Putin presented to the American special envoy Steve Wittouf at a meeting in Moscow on Wednesday – requires Ukraine to waive the region of Donbas, which Russia controls most of it as well as the Crimea.
The plan also provides for the freezing of the current battle lines, but the other details of the proposal are still unclear. According to “CNN”, the plan angered European officials who expressed concern that this was an attempt by Putin to avoid the sanctions that Trump threatened to impose.
European proposal
Wall Street Journal said that European officials have made a counter proposal that includes demands that a ceasefire be reached before any other steps were taken, and that any land exchange with firm security guarantees.
“No operation can be started by giving up lands in the midst of fighting,” the American newspaper quoted a European negotiator as saying.
For his part, a European official confirmed that European actors presented a counter -proposal at the meeting, but he refused to mention any details.
Moscow demands that Kiev officially abandon 4 areas partially by the Russian army, which are Donetsk, Logansk, Zabarujia, and Khairsson, as well as the Ukrainian Crimea, which the Kremlin announced an inclusion by a single decision in 2014.
Moscow also requires Ukraine to stop receiving Western weapons, and abandoning its ambitions to join NATO (NATO).
Kiev is considered unacceptable, and demands the withdrawal of Russian forces and with Western security guarantees, among them the continued receipt of weapons and the deployment of a European battalion on its territory.
Ukrainian refusal
Yesterday, Zellinski made a phone call to British Prime Minister Kiir Starmer, during which he expressed his gratitude for the continued support of London to Kev.
The two sides affirmed the danger of the Moscow plan to seize large parts of eastern Ukraine in any peace agreement.
Zelinski stressed his country’s need for real and sustainable peace, stressing the continuation of work for constructive diplomacy and effective solutions.
For his part, French President Emmanuel Macron said that “the future of Ukraine cannot be decided without the Ukrainians” and that the European countries “will be part of the solution because the matter is related to its security.”
As for Zelinski, he said that the Ukrainians “will not surrender their land to the occupiers” and that any solutions without his country “will be against peace.” He affirmed his willingness to work with Trump and all partners for a real and long -term peace.
He also stressed that his country does not touch any transformations in the Russian position, and that “the Russians are unwilling to stop the fighting, and continue to support the war.”
After the call, Britain announced that its foreign minister, David Lami Wajih de Vans, will organize a meeting of European and American national security consultants “to discuss the progress that must be made to establish a just and lasting peace” in Ukraine.
For his part, the French stressed that the “future of Ukraine” cannot decide “without the Ukrainians.” “The Europeans also will necessarily be part of the solution because their security depends on it,” Macron wrote on the X platform.
The war -which Russia began on Ukraine in February 2022, claimed the life of tens of thousands at the very least on both sides, and caused great destruction. But after more than 3 years of battles, contrast is still the master of the situation between the demands of Kyiv and Moscow. Russia is accused of obstructing negotiations by maintaining the ceiling of its high demands, while its forces are advancing.