Overview
- Zelensky says a U.S.-backed concept would turn Ukrainian-held parts of the Donbas into a demilitarized “free economic zone” after a Ukrainian withdrawal, with control and policing of the area still undefined.
- Ukraine has delivered a revised 20-point plan and says any territorial changes must follow enforceable security guarantees and a national vote through elections or a referendum.
- Kyiv rejects ceding the Donbas and seeks reciprocal Russian withdrawals, while negotiations also clash over who controls the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
- The White House has grown impatient, with President Trump conditioning U.S. attendance at European talks on a real chance of a deal and saying the U.S. would help with Ukraine’s security under an agreement.
- Zelensky reports Russia agreed to pull back from small areas in Kharkiv, Sumy and Dnipropetrovsk but refuses to leave positions in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, leaving front-line boundaries unresolved.