Ukraine is finalising a new peace proposal for Washington as President Volodymyr Zelensky insists that any settlement with Russia must not involve giving up Ukrainian territory.
Zelensky said Kyiv would submit an updated framework after again rejecting calls for territorial compromise, stating he has “no right” under the country’s constitution or international law to cede land. His comments followed meetings with European and NATO leaders aimed at preventing support for any deal that would leave Ukraine exposed to future aggression.
He told reporters a revised proposal could be sent to the United States as early as Tuesday.
Overnight, the city of Sumy in north-west Ukraine was left without electricity following a wave of Russian drone strikes targeting energy facilities. Regional authorities reported more than a dozen drones hit infrastructure sites, and emergency teams are assessing potential casualties.
In western Ukraine, the death toll from one of Russia’s most lethal strikes in the Ternopil region continued to rise. Officials confirmed two additional bodies were recovered after a missile attack last month, bringing the total number of victims to 38, including eight children.
Zelensky’s tour of Europe followed an intensive weekend of negotiations between Ukrainian and U.S. representatives, though those discussions failed to produce terms acceptable to Kyiv. The president was due to receive a detailed briefing from his chief negotiator, Rustem Umerov, who was involved in direct talks that also included Russian representatives.
“Russia is demanding we abandon our territory, but we are not prepared to surrender anything,” Zelensky said. He added that Ukrainian law, the constitution and broader international norms leave no legal or moral basis for land concessions. Any alteration to Ukraine’s borders, he said, would have to be approved through a national referendum.
Russia’s military leadership claimed on Tuesday that its forces were advancing across the front line and targeting Myrnohrad, near the strategic hub of Pokrovsk. Moscow has asserted control over the city, which it sees as a key step toward occupying the wider Donbas region. Ukraine disputes that claim, and Ukrainian commanders recently showed live footage of ongoing fighting inside the city.
Zelensky said a U.S.-drafted peace plan had been reduced from 28 points to 20 amid pushback from Ukraine and European governments, who viewed the initial version as overly favourable to Russia. He stressed that none of the provisions supporting Ukraine had been removed, and that there had been no movement on questions involving territory.
Control of the eastern Donbas and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant remain among the most sensitive points in the talks. A leaked draft earlier suggested full Russian control over Donbas and a shared distribution of energy from Zaporizhzhia, despite the fact Russia has not captured the entire region after nearly four years of conflict.
European leaders say there has been progress in reshaping the proposal in recent weeks and have welcomed U.S. efforts to support a path toward ending the war. A high-level meeting in London on Monday — attended by leaders from the UK, France, Germany and Ukraine — was widely interpreted as a united show of backing for Kyiv amid concerns about pressure from Washington.
Officials said the discussions highlighted the need for a “just and lasting peace” backed by credible security guarantees for Ukraine. The structure of those guarantees remains a central unresolved issue, with work underway to form a broader coalition willing to provide long-term defence support.
Both the UK and France have signalled openness to deploying international forces in Ukraine as part of a security arrangement, while several European defence partners have raised doubts about that approach. The extent of future U.S. involvement also remains unclear.
After the London talks, Zelensky travelled to Brussels for meetings with NATO and EU leadership and is expected to hold discussions in Italy on Tuesday.
Moscow has also characterised its recent conversations with U.S. officials as constructive, though there has been no public indication that Russia intends to revise its wartime demands, which have remained unchanged since the invasion began in February 2022.
Trump, meanwhile, has portrayed Zelensky as the main obstacle to securing an agreement. He has made a swift end to the conflict a central foreign policy objective and has repeatedly claimed he could deliver a deal quickly. He said Moscow was “comfortable” with the proposal presented to both sides and expressed disappointment that Zelensky had not reviewed it in full.
Zelensky said he is awaiting Umerov’s direct briefing on the talks held over three days in Miami. “Some issues can only be handled face to face,” he said.
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