KIIV, Ukraine (AP) — Initial drafts of U.S. proposals for a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia meet many of Kiev’s demands, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday, although he suggested that neither side in the nearly four-year war will get everything they want in talks to reach a deal.
“In general, it seems quite solid at this stage,” the Ukrainian leader said of recent talks with US officials trying to steer neighboring countries towards compromises.
“There are some things that we probably aren’t ready for, and I’m sure there are things that the Russians aren’t ready for either,” Zelenskyi told reporters in Kiev.
US President Donald Trump has been pushing for a peace deal for months, but the talks have been hit by sharply conflicting demands from Moscow and Kiev.
US Representative Steve Witkoff said on Sunday he had held “productive and constructive” talks in Florida with Ukrainian and European representatives, although Trump was less effusive the next day, saying: “Discussions continue.”
“We’re talking. It’s going well,” Trump said Monday while vacationing at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Asked if he planned to talk to Zelensky or Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump said no, offering only about the fighting, “I’d like to see it stop.”
Meanwhile, Zelensky said “almost 90 percent” of Ukraine’s demands have been incorporated into the draft agreements.
The backbone of the proposed agreement is a 20-point plan, he said. There is also a framework document on security guarantees between Ukraine, European countries and the United States of America, as well as a separate document on bilateral security guarantees granted to Ukraine by the US.
Zelensky made several key points, such as the Ukrainian army remaining at a peacetime level of 800,000; membership of the European Union; and European forces, led by France and the United Kingdom and with a “stop” from Washington, ensuring “Ukraine’s security in the air, on land and at sea.”
“Some key countries will provide presence in these areas; others will contribute to energy security, finance, bomb shelters and so on,” the Ukrainian president said.
Ukraine argues that the bilateral document with the US should be revised by the US Congress, with some details and annexes kept secret, Zelenskyy said.
The US team is now in talks with Russian envoys, and Washington has asked that no details be made public, he added.
Ukraine strikes deep into Russia
Zelensky said on Monday that he met with his military commanders, who reported that the defensive lines were holding firm against the Russian attack.
“In (recent) weeks, the Russian military has significantly increased the intensity of its attacks, and the number of Russian casualties has increased accordingly,” he said in a post on Telegram.
Ukrainian forces hit an oil terminal, a pipeline, two parked fighter jets and two ships in a series of strikes on Russian territory, officials said Monday.
The attacks are part of an ongoing campaign to disrupt Russia’s war effort and sow fear behind the front lines, where outnumbered Ukrainian troops struggle to contain Russia’s larger army.
The attacks also aim to undermine Putin’s bid to portray Russia as negotiating from a position of military strength in US-led peace efforts that have yet to make a breakthrough on key points.
The killing of a top Russian general in a car bomb in Moscow on Monday, with investigators suspecting Ukraine was behind it, could be another example of Kiev choosing surprise targets.
Ukrainian partisans burn Russian fighter jets
Ukrainian forces struck the Tamanneftegaz oil terminal, an ammunition depot and a launch site for attack drones on Russian territory and Russian-held Ukrainian territory, Ukraine’s General Staff said in a statement on Monday.
A pipeline, two docks and two ships were damaged in the southern Krasnodar region, and a large fire broke out, the statement said, without specifying what kind of weapons were used in the attack.
It added that a Ukrainian-made missile also hit a temporary base of Russia’s 92nd River Brigade in Olenivka, on the occupied Crimean Peninsula.
A separate strike targeted an ammunition depot in a Russian-held part of the Donetsk region, aimed at slowing Russia’s advance there, the General Staff said. A Russian launch site for attack drones was also hit.
Ukrainian partisans set fire to two Russian fighter jets in an operation late Sunday at a base near Lipetsk, a city in western Russia, according to Ukrainian military intelligence.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said only that its forces shot down 41 Ukrainian drones overnight, three of them over the Krasnodar region.
Russia is targeting the power grid again
Meanwhile, Russian forces continued to target Ukraine’s energy sector, aiming to deprive civilians of heat and running water during the frigid winter. Russia has sought to eliminate power in Ukraine throughout the war, in a tactic Ukraine refers to as a “weaponization winter.”
Energy infrastructure in five regions was attacked overnight, Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said.
Russia struck Ukraine with 86 drones of various types overnight, the Ukrainian air force said. Ukrainian forces stopped 58 of them, the statement said.
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