"I have repeatedly stressed that none of us trust Russia... but we will not play with narratives that we want the war to continue," President Volodymyr Zelensky said at a press conference.
"If it comes to the point where a European presence is needed for a ceasefire or peace agreement to be reached, then Denmark is in principle prepared for that," Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said.
While U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio did not specify details of a potential agreement, he clarified that mutual concessions would be key to any diplomatic resolution.
The Kremlin insists on organizing the framework of a pottential peacekeeping mission in Ukraine. This includes deciding what countries would take part in a peacekeeping force, a person familiar with the issue told Bloomberg.
"We're looking at putting this plan together in days and not weeks," a senior European diplomat told Reuters.
Ukraine and Europe are working on a plan for the first steps toward a just and sustainable peace as Russia's full-scale invasion enters its fourth year, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on March 5.
U.S. President Donald Trump said that steps towards a peace deal were "moving along pretty rapidly" and that he expected an agreement to be negotiated "fairly soon," or not at all.
Russian forces have ramped up attacks on Ukraine’s logistic networks in Kursk Oblast, further hampering the Ukrainian effort to hold on to the Russian territory it controls ahead of potential peace talks, analysts and soldiers on the ground told the Kyiv Independent. “The Russians have been on the offensive
Russian President Vladimir Putin still wants to occupy all of Ukraine and thinks he can outlast Ukraine and Europe in its armed aggression, unnamed intelligence officials said.
Such a force could number in the tens of thousands, or even fewer — a number far below President Zelensky's suggestion of 100,000 to 150,000 peacekeepers.
The alleged plan, which reportedly includes a ceasefire, elections in Ukraine, and a final peace agreement, was revealed by Fox News Senior White House Correspondent Jacqui Heinrich on X.
"Today, we are not talking about any peace agreement... A peace deal cannot be signed in Munich because it is Munich. We remember what things were signed here. I do not repeat such things," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Editor's note: The article was updated on Feb. 14 to include the Latvian Foreign Ministry's comments. European nations, particularly Ukraine’s neighbors and the Baltic states, were stunned when the U.S. President Donald Trump suddenly announced the start of peace negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the
Key developments on Feb. 6: * First French Mirage fighter jets reportedly arrive in Ukraine * Ukraine launches new offensive in Kursk Oblast, Russian media claims, Kyiv yet to confirm * Ukraine strikes Russian drone launch site in Krasnodar Krai, military claims * U.S. won't present plan to end Russia's war at Munich
"There is no official plan yet. What is in certain publications... I am sure that this is not President Trump's official plan," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Feb. 6.
Keith Kellogg, special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, is expected to present Donald Trump's plan at the Munich Security Conference.
Update: Briefing slides can now be accessed here. KI Insights subscribers can also access the recording. Join our exclusive KI Insights Monthly Briefing to gain critical perspectives on the prospects of a peace process in Ukraine under the new US administration. We will analyze the various involved stakeholders and their
His remarks come amid ongoing discussions among Western countries about the possible deployment of peacekeeping forces if a ceasefire is negotiated.
While the specifics of a potential agreement under U.S. President Donald Trump remain unclear, Zelensky emphasized that Vladimir Putin has no interest in ending the war.
"It can’t be without the United States," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with Bloomberg on Jan. 22. "Even if some European friends think it can be, no it can’t be. Nobody will risk without the United States."
"We're the largest NATO partner in Europe. We'll obviously have a role to play," German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Jan. 18 when asked about the possibility of sending troops to monitor a ceasefire in Ukraine.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he had discussed the possibility of deploying peacekeeping troops to Ukraine with President Volodymyr Zelensky during their meeting in Kyiv.
President Volodymyr Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the situation on the front line and the possibility of sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine in a phone call on Jan. 13.
"The whole [Trump] team is obsessed with strength and looking strong, so they’re recalibrating the Ukraine approach," one European official told the Financial Times.
"President (Vladimir) Putin last outlined our conditions for ending the conflict on Dec. 19. So far, nothing from the incoming U.S. administration suggests anything of interest to us," Russia's envoy to the U.N., Vasily Nebenzya, said.
Germany should not rule out deploying Bundeswehr troops to Ukraine after the war ends, Roderich Kiesewetter, a lawmaker from the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU), said on Jan. 3, Schwäbische Zeitung reported.
The Kyiv Independent’s Francis Farrell sat down with Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze to look back at 2024 and discuss the country’s support for Ukraine amid political uncertainty before the inauguration of Donald Trump in the U.S. and Russia’s gains on the frontline.
Editor's note: We asked members of the Kyiv Independent community to share the questions they have about the war. Here's what they asked and how we answered. Join our community to ask a question in the next round. Our community funds our journalism. Question: I know it's a big question,
"We continued to work on the initiative of President Macron regarding the presence in Ukraine of forces that can contribute to stabilization on the path to peace," Zelensky said after meeting with the French President on Dec. 18.
Editor's note: This article is based on a publicly available research report on scenarios for the end of Russia’s war on Ukraine by KI Insights, the Kyiv Independent’s research unit. Read Francis Farrell's full report here. After nearly three years of heavy battles and mass strikes, Russia’s
Key developments on Dec. 9: * Zelensky 'may consider' deployment of foreign peacekeepers in Ukraine to ensure ceasefire * Ex-chief of Russian-run Olenivka prison allegedly killed in car bombing in occupied Donetsk * Trump 'formulating a concept' to end Russia-Ukraine war * Russia claims bodies of Il-76 crash victims given to Ukraine, Kyiv says
Turkey won't support a peace plan that involves freezing the war in Ukraine and Kyiv making territorial concessions to Moscow, Ukrinform reported on Nov. 29, citing Ukrainian lawmaker Ahtem Chiygoz.
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