In a significant move towards a peaceful resolution in Ukraine, the United Kingdom is set to spearhead European forces tasked with ensuring the nation’s security. This development is part of an emerging peace deal aimed at ending the ongoing conflict with Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently hailed the ‘solid’ progress achieved in peace negotiations held in the United States. He noted that an impressive ‘nearly 90%’ of Ukraine’s demands have been integrated into the draft agreements, which are centered around a comprehensive 20-point plan.
The framework for this proposed peace deal includes a critical document on security guarantees, which involves Ukraine, various European nations, and the United States. Additionally, a separate agreement outlines the bilateral security guarantees that the US intends to provide Ukraine.
President Zelensky elaborated on the discussions, highlighting that European forces would be under the leadership of both the UK and France, with a ‘backstop’ from the United States. This collaboration aims to ensure Ukraine’s security across multiple domains: air, land, and sea.
He further explained that while certain key countries will maintain a presence in these areas, others will offer contributions in energy security, finance, and infrastructure such as bomb shelters. This multifaceted approach underscores the international commitment to fortifying Ukraine’s sovereignty and stability.
Mr Zelensky said: ‘Some key countries will provide presence in these domains; others will contribute to energy security, finance, bomb shelters, and so on.’
Ukraine is arguing that this bilateral document should be reviewed by the US Congress, with some details and annexes kept classified, Mr Zelensky said.
The US team is now in talks with Russian envoys, and Washington has asked that no details be released, he added.
Despite his optimistic outlook on the talks, Ukraine was hit by a series of Russian attacks on Tuesday morning after the latest round of negotiations.
One person was confirmed dead in the western region of Khmelnytsky, while another was killed in Kyiv. Several people, including children, are said to have been injured.
UK troops in training in Salisbury. The British army will lead European forces in ensuring Ukraine’s security guarantees, according to a new proposal in the peace deal
A Russian attack on Kostiantynivka in Donetsk region on December 20. Despite the peace talks, Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukraine
Several Ukrainian regions have also been left without power in the height of winter after Vladimir Putin’s forces attacked Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, according to its energy minister.
Several fires broke out in regions across the country in the aftermath of Russia’s bombardment, officials said.
While initial drafts of US proposals for a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia meet many of Kyiv’s demands, Mr Zelensky suggested that neither side in the almost four-year war is likely to get everything it wants in talks on reaching a settlement.
‘Overall, it looks quite solid at this stage,’ he said. ‘There are some things we are probably not ready for, and I’m sure there are things the Russians are not ready for either,’ Mr Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv.
US President Donald Trump has for months been pushing for a peace agreement.
However, the negotiations have run into sharply conflicting demands from Moscow and Kyiv.
But US envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday he held ‘productive and constructive’ talks in Florida with Ukrainian and European representatives.
‘We are talking. It’s going OK,’ Mr Trump said on Monday while on holiday at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Asked if he planned to speak to Mr Zelensky or Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mr Trump did not say, offering only of the fighting, ‘I’d like to see it stopped’.
Meanwhile, Mr Zelensky said on Monday he met with his military commanders who reported that defensive lines are holding firm against the Russian onslaught.
‘In (recent) weeks, the Russian army has significantly increased the intensity of attacks, and the number of Russian losses has increased accordingly,’ he said in a post on Telegram.
Mr Zelensky has praised the ‘solid’ progress of peace talks in Miami. However, Russia launched an attack on Kyiv after the latest round of negotiations
Ukrainian forces hit an oil terminal, a pipeline, two parked jet fighters and two ships in a series of strikes on Russian soil, officials said on Monday.
The killing of a top Russian general by a car bomb in Moscow on Monday, with investigators suspecting Ukraine was behind it, could be another instance of Kyiv picking surprise targets.
Ukrainian partisans also set fire to two Russian jet fighters in an operation on Sunday evening at a base near Lipetsk, a city in western Russia, according to Ukraine’s military intelligence.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence said only that its forces shot down 41 Ukrainian drones overnight, three of them over the Krasnodar region.
Zelensky’s comments come after US intelligence warned that Putin has not abandoned his aim of capturing all of Ukraine and attempting to claim parts of Europe that were once in the Soviet empire.
Yesterday, it was reported that Putin has claimed he is ready to guarantee it has no plans to attack NATO. But several European officials have repeatedly sounded the alarm that the Russian leader could attempt an attack within five years.
In a grim warning, the organisation’s secretary general said earlier this month: ‘We are Russia’s next target. Too many don’t feel the urgency.’
