(L/R) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump stand for a household picture with different European leaders within the Cross Corridor of the White Home in Washington, DC, on August 18, 2025.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Pictures
Tensions are mounting as soon as once more between U.S. President Donald Trump and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after the White Home chief accused Ukraine’s head of state of not even studying the U.S.’ peace proposals but.
“I am slightly bit upset that President Zelenskyy hasn’t but learn the proposal, that was as of some hours in the past,” Trump instructed reporters on Sunday evening. “His individuals like it, however he hasn’t [read it],” Trump added.
“Russia, I suppose, would relatively have the entire nation if you consider it, however Russia is, I consider, tremendous with it, however I am undecided that Zelenskyy is okay with it,” Trump mentioned.
It is unsure which model of the U.S.-backed peace plan for Ukraine Trump was referring to however the president’s feedback got here a day after talks between U.S. and Ukrainian officers led to Miami with out an obvious settlement over the newest model of a draft peace plan.
There have been a number of variations of the purported peace plan as Russia and Ukraine have haggled — through their American intermediaries — over key particulars inside the deal, significantly in terms of calls for for territorial concessions by Russia and safety ensures for Ukraine.
Trump’s outgoing Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg remarked Sunday {that a} deal to finish the battle was “actually shut” and that it trusted resolving two primary excellent points: the way forward for Ukraine’s Donbas jap area, which is broadly occupied by Russian forces, and the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear energy plant in southern Ukraine.
Ukraine has given a extra cautious appraisal of the talks’ progress with Zelenskyy saying in his nightly tackle Sunday that the Miami talks — held between his new chief negotiator Rustem Umerov and Ukraine’s army chief of common employees, Basic Andriy Hnatov, and Trump’s particular envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner — have been “constructive, although not straightforward.”
Zelenskyy mentioned he would have an in depth debrief along with his negotiating crew in particular person relatively than over the cellphone, noting, considerably pointedly, that “some issues can solely be mentioned in particular person.”
Talks transfer to London
Zelenskyy is travelling to London for talks on Monday as Kyiv and its European allies scramble to make sure that Ukraine’s territorial integrity and future safety (in addition to Europe’s) should not compromised within the face of rising U.S. strain to conform to peace proposals initially seen as closely favorable to Russia.
Zelenskyy is because of meet U.Ok. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz for talks “which can deal with the continued peace negotiations and subsequent steps,” Downing Avenue mentioned Sunday. Zelenskyy may even journey to Brussels and Rome for additional talks this week.
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer talks to French President Emmanuel Macron throughout a gathering with U.S. President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and different European leaders amid negotiations to finish the Russian battle in Ukraine, on the White Home in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 18, 2025.
Alexander Drago | Reuters
Ukraine’s European allies are anxious to be seen and heard as peace proposals are mentioned with out their involvement, significantly given the safety ramifications any deal may have for the broader continent.
The U.Ok. and France have been main proponents of a “Coalition of the Keen,” a bunch of nations that could possibly be a part of a “reassurance power” in a post-war Ukraine that helps to ensure its safety.
Russia vehemently opposes the thought of overseas troops being deployed in Ukraine nevertheless, with Russian President Vladimir Putin saying they’d be “professional targets.”
European leaders will likely be feeling extra nervous concerning the U.S.’ potential for accommodating Russian calls for after the discharge of Trump’s newest nationwide safety technique final Friday, which mentioned Europe risked “civilisational erasure” and that it was “removed from apparent” whether or not European international locations can “stay dependable allies.” The doc additionally said that Washington ought to reestablish strategic stability with Russia.
The Kremlin on Sunday praised the brand new technique, saying it largely accorded with Russia’s “imaginative and prescient.”
Whereas each the U.S. and Russia share a mutual need for a future rapprochement, a ways stays in terms of a right away peace settlement over Ukraine.
Talks between Witkoff, Kushner and Russian officers held in Moscow final week additionally concluded and not using a breakthrough, with Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov telling reporters that the discussions have been “very helpful, constructive, and extremely informative” however that there was extra work to be completed.
