Russia has sunk Donald Trump’s hope that a peace deal in Ukraine can be achieved by Thanksgiving after the Kremlin said Europe’s counterproposal was not constructive and did not work for Moscow.
In a sign that both sides remain far apart, the Kremlin said that Europe’s demands for Ukraine would not be accepted by Vladimir Putin but said that an earlier proposal by the US seemed “quite acceptable to us”.
Trump claimed on Monday that progress was being made in peace talks in Geneva between US and Ukrainian officials. Washington and Kyiv said in a joint statement that they were working to narrow the gaps in the 28-point peace plan revealed by the US last week.
The US president had given Ukraine until Thanksgiving, which takes place this Thursday, to agree to the plan – but US officials later indicated the deadline could change.
Some EU leaders met to discuss Ukraine on the sidelines of an EU-African Union summit in Luanda on Monday, with others dialling in via video conference.
European officials welcome progress in talks on US proposals to end Russia-Ukraine war
European officials said Monday they were comforted by the outcome of discussions on U.S. peace proposals for Ukraine that they had viewed as tilted in Russia’s favor, but they didn’t disclose details of the weekend talks and warned of a long road to peace.
“The negotiations were a step forward, but there are still major issues which remain to be resolved,” Finnish President Alexander Stubb wrote on social platform X about Sunday’s meeting in Switzerland between U.S. and Ukrainian officials.
Reform breaks silence on ‘treacherous’ Nathan Gill over taking Russia bribes
Zia Yusuf, the party’s former chair and key member of Reform’s leadership, claimed that it was “unreasonable” to link Gill’s crime with the softer stance that the party and Mr Farage have taken on Vladimir Putin’s Russia and its criticism of the Ukraine war.
Mr Yusuf described Gill as “treasonous, horrific, awful” in an interview with Sir Trevor Phillips on his Sunday morning political show on Sky News.
Xi urges all parties to ‘reduce differences’ in call with Trump
Xi Jinping urged “all parties to reduce [their] differences” during a call with US president Donald Trump today.
A White House official confirmed the Chinese president had spoken with Trump by phone.
‘We are making progress’ says Starmer as he calls for ‘just’ and ‘lasting’ peace
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has outlined the UK’s priorities when supporting a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
“Talks in Geneva are ongoing, and we are making progress, and that is a good thing,” he said on Monday.
“Everybody is absolutely focused on what we need to get out of this, and that is a just and lasting peace.
“Both of those words matter. It’s got to be just, and obviously matters for Ukraine have to be determined by Ukraine, but it’s also got to be lasting, and it’s got to endure.
“So that’s the focus. There’s more work to do.”
He added that a “coalition of the willing” would meet virtually on Tuesday, led by Starmer and French president Emmanuel Macron.
Kremlin says European counter-proposal for Ukraine peace does not work for Russia
The Kremlin on Monday said that a European counter-proposal to a US 28-point peace plan for Ukraine was not constructive and that it simply did not work for Moscow.
The publication of the 28-point draft US peace plan last week deepened concerns in Ukraine and among European powers that Russia’s core demands on NATO, territory and the chronology of any peace deal had been accepted by Washington, Reuters reported.
The European plan significantly changes the meaning and significance of key points on NATO and territory, according to a copy seen by Reuters.
“The European plan, at first glance… is completely unconstructive and does not work for us,” Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters in Moscow.
President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that US proposals for peace in Ukraine could be the basis of a resolution of the conflict but that if Kyiv turned down the plan then Russian forces would advance further.
Poland charges Ukrainian with Russia-backed railway sabotage
A Ukrainian man has been charged over allegedly assisting in a Russia-backed operation targeting Polish railways.
Poland previously called the attack, which took place on a track 80 miles from the Polish-Ukrainian border used to deliver aid to Ukraine, an “unprecedented act of sabotage”.
Two others were previously charged earlier this month.
Zelensky ‘could visit US this week’ as Trump races to seal Ukraine peace deal by Thanksgiving
Volodymyr Zelensky may travel to the US in the coming days as Ukrainian and American officials work to secure a peace deal before Thanksgiving on Thursday.
The US secretary of state Marco Rubio said the talks in Switzerland had been “meaningful” but warned the two sides were still apart in terms of reaching a final agreement.
Tom Ambrose reports:
Thousands without heating as Ukraine launches drone attack deep inside Russia
The Shatura Power Station, located approximately 120 km (75 miles) east of the Kremlin, was hit early on Sunday, Moscow region governor Andrei Vorobyov confirmed.
Video footage on Telegram showed balls of flames and black smoke rising into the night sky from the power station. Reuters was able to confirm the location, though not the date of the video.
As Trump bends to Putin’s will again on Ukraine, it is time for Europe to go it alone
It may feel like a rip in the time-space continuum. On one side of the tear, there’s a universe in which America is run by a wannabe king who uses the invasion of an ally as an opportunity for profit, who lies, cheats and backstabs his friends. On the other stand America’s closest comrades, insisting that Washington’s a force for good.
There is only one reality, and it is time to confront it.
America is no longer the leader of the West, let alone the rest of the world. It’s got the biggest armed forces. It has the biggest economy and the widest cultural reach the world has ever seen. But its democracy is collapsing, and it has been captured by a cult of ignorant grifters.
The Independent’s world affairs editor Sam Kiley reports:
In pictures: Aftermath of a Russian drone stroke on Kharkiv
