But as Russia launches new missile and drone attacks on Kiev – killing civilians and damaging power infrastructure – negotiators warn the territorial issue remains the hard red line.
US AND RUSSIA DRAFT PEACE PLAN FOR UKRAINE, REQUIRING MAJOR CONCESSIONS FROM KIEV
Ukraine’s 44th Artillery Brigade fires a self-propelled howitzer at Russian frontline positions in the Zaporizhia region, Ukraine, August 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)
He pushed back on criticism that the “peace proposal” is a blueprint imposed on Kiev by the US and Russia. “To me, it doesn’t matter who the original author was. There is a framework. Let’s work on it.”
Honcharenko acknowledged that sanctions relief – one of Russia’s core demands – would be painful for Ukrainians. But he also underlined the reality of the battlefield: “We are not in the position where our tanks are near Moscow. There will be no solution that I completely like.”
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits a flooded area after the Nova Kakhovka dam breach, in Kherson, Ukraine, June 8, 2023. (Reuters/Stringer)
Barr, a candidate for the US Senate in Kentucky, said: “President Trump’s peace-through-strength leadership kept Putin in complete control. This war would never have taken place under his watch. Trump is the president of peace… the only leader who can end this war and return stability to Europe.”
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He said he sees no sign that Russian President Vladimir Putin is willing to compromise, arguing that the Kremlin believes Western support for Ukraine is weakening. Putin could be willing to fight for “two or three more years,” confident he can survive in Kiev and European governments struggling to maintain military aid.
Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomes President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff during a meeting in Moscow, August 6, 2025. (Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Pool via Reuters)
Breedlove argued that Putin’s goals extend far beyond Ukraine and that the Russian president has been clear about his desire to reshape the security order in Eastern Europe. He also warned that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is negotiating under heavy pressure from Western governments that control Ukraine’s access to weapons and financing.
RUSSIA BOMBERS Kiev, KILLING AT LEAST 6, AS TRUMP’S PEACE PLAN ADVANCES
“It’s very clear that he’s being threatened without any support,” Breedlove said. “If Mr. Zelenskyy loses the support of America and Europe, life will become very ugly for Ukraine. But they will not stop fighting.”
He said early versions of the US proposal contained “egregious” provisions that Ukraine would never have agreed to, but that the process has “improved” as Kiev’s input was incorporated. Still, “the things that are acceptable for Ukraine will not be acceptable for Mr. Putin,” he said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and others join the Ukrainian delegation before closed-door talks on ending Russia’s war in Ukraine during the U.S. mission in Geneva, Switzerland, November 23, 2025. (Emma Farge/Reuters)
Breedlove pushed back on the claim that Kiev is willing to cede territory, saying lawmakers want peace but not capitulation. “I believe there are many parliamentary hearings, and many in Zelensky’s group, who want peace, but they want a lasting, just peace. I’m not sure they are willing to make many concessions for that,” he said.
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As negotiators move toward what they hope will be a final round of talks, all sides agree on one point: The success or failure of this effort will depend on whether Ukraine and Russia — under pressure from allies, including incentives from Washington and the realities of the battlefield — can finally bridge the territorial divide that has defined the war from day one.
