What we're covering
• US President Donald Trump says “something good just may be happening” following talks in Geneva yesterday on a plan to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. Those discussions continue on a technical level today and EU leaders are also meeting for further talks.
• Meanwhile, the Kremlin says it has not yet received any official information on the outcome of yesterday’s talks. They were praised by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky as “substantive.”
• Washington said the Ukrainians believe the current draft amendment of Trump’s 28-point proposal to end the war “reflects their national security interests.” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated that a Thursday deadline set by Trump for Ukraine to accept it, is fluid.
A closer look at the European counter-proposal to end the Ukraine war
The United Kingdom, France and Germany had drafted a counter-proposal to the US plan with an array of key changes, Reuters has reported. A European official and a European diplomatic source confirmed the text’s accuracy to CNN’s Chief International Security Correspondent Nick Paton Walsh.
Among the key changes included in the counter-proposal was striking out the language regarding the restriction of further NATO expansion. According to the draft text obtained by Reuters, the European plan states:
- “Ukraine joining NATO depends on consensus of NATO members, which does not exist.”
- NATO will not permanently station troops in Ukraine during peacetime, but the transatlantic alliance’s fighter jets will be stationed in neighboring Poland.
- The draft text also says: “After a peace agreement is signed, a dialogue between Russia and NATO will convene to address all security concerns and create a de-escalatory environment to ensure global security and increase the opportunity for connectivity and future economic opportunity.”
The European version also removed references to territorial concessions and the US proposal’s recognition of Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk as de facto Russian territory.
The European draft text additionally includes a higher figure for the proposed limit on the Ukrainian military during peacetime, saying it will be capped at 800,000.
What happened after yesterday's Ukraine war talks in Geneva?
As we’ve reported, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has indicated that discussions on a plan to end the war in Ukraine would continue on a technical level today, as he expressed optimism “that we’re going to get there in a very reasonable period of time, very soon.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also praised the “substantive” results from yesterday’s meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.
Catch up on how the talks went:
- Current draft a “reflection of national interests”: The White House said that the Ukrainians believe the current draft of the peace plan “reflects their national security interests,” after “revisions and clarifications” were made with input from top US, Ukrainian and European officials. An initial 28-point plan had faced criticism for appearing to favor Russia.
- Productive talks, substantive results: The discussions were “probably the most productive and meaningful” so far, Rubio said, while Zelensky praised the “substantive” results. These signs of progress came hours after President Donald Trump lashed out at Ukrainian leadership for showing “zero gratitude” toward US efforts to broker peace.
- Deadline could shift: Trump had given Ukraine until Thursday to accept the US-backed proposal. But Rubio indicated yesterday that the timeline is fluid. Ahead of the meeting, Trump also said the plan was not his “final offer.”
- Russia’s stance remains to be seen: Moscow was not involved in yesterday’s talks. Rubio noted that “the Russians get a vote here” and will be consulted in the next step toward peace.
Russian forces exploit manpower advantage to edge forward in multiple parts of Ukraine
From Kharkiv region in the north to the farmland of Zaporizhzhia in the south, Russian forces in Ukraine are edging forward, exploiting gaps in Ukrainian defenses and a vast numerical superiority.
Russia has concentrated more than 150,000 troops in the Pokrovsk direction of Donetsk alone, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday.
Russia is likely losing some 30,000 soldiers killed or wounded every month, according to western analysts. But it’s recruiting a similar number and has caught up with Ukraine in deploying a wide range of attack drones.
Mobilizing enough soldiers has become a crisis for Ukraine. More than 250,000 criminal cases have been opened into soldiers going AWOL since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. Many units are seriously under staffed; for those who do serve rotations out of the frontlines get fewer and shorter.
The shortage is compounded by the sheer size of the battlefield – 1,000 kilometers (more than 600 miles) long from the Black Sea to the Russian border.
The south has become a hotspot as Russian forces have gradually advanced toward the city of Zaporizhzhia. They are now some 80 kilometers (50 miles) east of the city and 30 kilometers (19 miles) to the south.
“Ukraine may now be approaching the point when the country no longer has enough fighters to effectively defend the full length of the front lines,” according to one analysis.
Ukraine may be able to step up its deep strikes against Russian energy and military infrastructure. But the Kremlin will see no reason to make concessions at the negotiating table while its troops are on the front-foot.
"Something good just may be happening," Trump says on potential plan to end Ukraine war
US President Donald Trump has said this morning that “something good just may be happening” regarding a plan to end the war in Ukraine, a day after intensive talks were held between US and Ukrainian officials in Geneva, Switzerland.
Trump’s comments come less than 24 hours after a previous Truth Social post where he scolded Ukrainian leadership for reportedly showing “zero gratitude” to the US for its efforts in ending the conflict.
After a day of intensive talks in Geneva on Sunday, however, US officials appear to be more optimistic that progress can be made to end the war, as we’ve reported.
A "coordinated EU position is key" to Ukraine negotiations, European Council president says
We’ve seen a statement this morning from European Council President António Costa.
He said he spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky this morning, to “get his assessment of the situation” ahead of the informal EU leaders’ meeting on Ukraine today.
Kremlin says it has not received any official information on Ukraine war talks in Geneva
The Kremlin said it has not received any official information regarding the outcome of yesterday’s Ukraine ceasefire talks held in Geneva, Switzerland.
“Look, we haven’t seen any plan yet,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a briefing on Monday, adding that Russia would not comment on the details of the draft agreement.
Based on initial media reports, Peskov said, “Some adjustments have been made to the peace plan text we saw earlier. But we’ll wait and see.”
Peskov also said there are “no plans yet” for talks with the US delegation this week, and that Moscow remains open for such contacts.
Zelensky says Ukraine will continue working with partners to "strengthen, not weaken" his country
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said today that Ukraine will continue to work closely with the United States on a proposed plan to end the fighting in his country but stressed the importance of ensuring that any plan strengthens Ukraine’s security.
“We will all continue working with partners, especially the United States, looking for compromises that strengthen, but not weaken, us. And we will explain how dangerous it is to pretend that aggression is something one can simply overlook and move on,” he said.
Zelensky added that Ukraine has successfully convinced Washington to keep “extremely sensitive points” on the table, including securing the full release of all Ukrainian prisoners of war and the return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia, amid ongoing talks in Geneva, Switzerland.
He also called on European nations to make decisions regarding the seizing of Russian assets and said Moscow must “pay fully” for the war.
US trumpets Ukraine progress, but will the Kremlin agree?
America’s top diplomat struck a relentlessly upbeat tone in Geneva on Sunday, after a rollercoaster day of intensive negotiations aimed at convincing a skeptical Ukraine to accept the latest US proposals to end Russia’s brutal war.
“I feel very optimistic that we can get something done here, because we made a tremendous amount of progress,” the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, told me at a late-night news conference at the US Mission in the Swiss city.
But given the extent of the deep compromises Ukraine is being called on to make in the publicly available version of the US peace proposals – which are seen as heavily favoring Russia – the suggestion that they can be easily overcome rings hollow.
The proposal for Ukraine to surrender key territories in the Donbas region of Eastern Ukraine, for example, that Russia has annexed but not captured, has been a longstanding red line for Kyiv, not least because the area includes the “fortress belt” of heavily defended towns and cities seen as essential to Ukrainian security.
Read the full analysis here.
German foreign minister says "issues concerning NATO" removed from Ukraine plan
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Monday that talks between the United States and Ukraine in Geneva on amending a 28-point plan to end Russia’s war had produced a “decisive success” for Europeans.
“All issues concerning Europe, including those concerning NATO, have been removed from this plan — this is a decisive success that we achieved yesterday,” Wadephul told Deutschlandfunk radio.
US touts "productive" talks with Ukraine on ending war
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio projected optimism yesterday after what he described as productive discussions between American and Ukrainian officials in Geneva, Switzerland, aimed at stopping the war in Ukraine.
The talks were “probably the most productive and meaningful” so far, Rubio told reporters after the first session.
The 28-point peace plan put forward by US President Donald Trump continues to evolve as the delegates work to achieve terms that would be acceptable to both Ukraine and Russia, Rubio said.
“This is a living, breathing document. Every day, with input, it changes,” he said, “The items that remain open are not insurmountable. We just need more time than what we have today,” he said.
The US proposal had attracted bipartisan criticism for its concessions to Russia. The plan puts pressure on Kyiv to cede territory, limit its military’s size, and promise not to join NATO in exchange for an end to the war — all long-standing Kremlin demands.
Amid the scrutiny, a US State Department spokesperson maintained that the proposal was “authored by the United States, with input from both the Russians and Ukrainians.”
The White House on Sunday said “revisions and clarifications” were made to the proposal with input from top US, Ukrainian, and European officials in Geneva, adding that the Ukrainians believe that the current draft “reflects their national security interests.”
We’ll bring you key developments and the latest from any further talks today, stay with us.
