Zelensky signals progress in peace plan talks with US

(Patria) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that he had a "very constructive" phone call with Donald Trump's peace envoy, Steve Witkoff, and US President Jared Kushner, the BBC reported last night.

Zelensky said they discussed how to ensure Russia adheres to any potential agreement to end the war with Ukraine and that he is "determined" to continue cooperation with the United States.

Ukrainian officials also joined the call from Miami, where they are in talks for the third day on US efforts to reach a peace agreement with Russia.

Russia appears to have made no concessions and continues its heavy bombardment of Ukraine.

"Ukraine is determined to continue working in good faith with the American side to truly achieve peace. We have processed many aspects and gone through key points that could ensure an end to the bloodshed and eliminate the threat of a new large-scale Russian invasion," Zelensky stated on platform X.

Russia subjected Ukraine to further air and missile attacks overnight from Friday to Saturday, drawing condemnation from Ukraine's allies in the European Union.

In a social media post, French President Emmanuel Macron said he had spoken with Zelensky and expressed his "full solidarity".

"France is determined to work with all partners to ensure de-escalation measures and impose a ceasefire," Macron added.

Earlier, Macron confirmed he would join Zelensky, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in talks in London on Monday.

The four leaders will discuss ongoing negotiations between US and Ukrainian officials aimed at finding an agreement to guarantee Ukraine's post-war security.

Two weeks earlier, the four met virtually to discuss European peacekeeping forces that could be deployed to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire.

Starmer has repeatedly said that Ukraine must determine its own future and added that a coalition of countries willing to play a "vital role" in guaranteeing the country's security would be peacekeeping forces.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed the idea of such forces, saying that any troops deployed to Ukraine would be "legitimate targets".

Russia launched 653 drones and 51 missiles on Friday evening, according to Ukrainian authorities. One strike hit a railway hub in the town of Fastiv southwest of Kyiv, destroying the main station building and damaging rolling stock.

Ukraine's Ministry of Energy announced that Russian attacks had hit energy facilities in eight regions, causing power outages. Russia claims it targeted military-industrial sites, as well as energy and port infrastructure.

US and Ukrainian negotiators have called on Russia to show "serious commitment to long-term peace" after talks in Moscow failed to yield progress.

Meanwhile, talks in Florida between Ukrainian and US officials aimed at persuading Ukraine to accept a US-backed peace plan are entering their third day.

In a statement released on Friday, Witkoff said that the two-day talks with Rustem Umerov, Secretary of Ukraine's National Security Council, had been "constructive".

Witkoff and Umerov "agreed on a framework for security arrangements" and "discussed the necessary deterrence capabilities to maintain lasting peace," their statement said, without providing details.

The prospects for ending the war depended on Russia's willingness to take "steps towards de-escalation and an end to the killing," the statement added.