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LAST UPDATE | 24 Nov 2025
THE KREMLIN SAID that Europe’s counter-proposal to a 28-point US plan to end the Ukraine war was “unconstructive” and did not work for Russia.
“Regarding the plans floating around, this morning we learnt about a European plan that, at first glance, is completely unconstructive and doesn’t suit us,” Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said, according to the state TASS news agency.
Earlier today, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed “important steps” after talks in Geneva with the US but said more work is needed to negotiate an end to the war with Russia.
Ukrainian, American and European officials met in Switzerland yesterday after a US proposal to end Russia’s almost four-year invasion was widely criticised as heeding to Moscow’s demands.
US President Donald Trump has given Ukraine until 27 November to approve his plan to end the conflict.
The US plan was drafted without input from Ukraine’s European allies, who were scrambling yesterday to make their voices heard and boost Kyiv’s position.
All sides claimed progress was made in negotiations in Geneva, with a joint statement calling them “constructive”.
“They reaffirmed that any future agreement must fully uphold Ukraine’s sovereignty and deliver a sustainable and just peace,” the joint statement said, noting “meaningful progress”.
Both sides pledged to keep working on joint proposals “in the coming days”.
EU leaders are expected to hold emergency Ukraine talks on the sidelines of a summit in Angola later today.
EU chief Antonio Costa today said he spoke with Zelenskyy ahead of the emergency meeting of European Union.
“A united and coordinated EU position is key in ensuring a good outcome of peace negotiations – for Ukraine and for Europe,” he said ahead of the meeting to be held in Angola.
However, the Kremlin said it was not informed on results of the talks in Geneva at the weekend.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was aware that “adjustments” were made to the plan that was initially endorsed by Donald Trump and welcomed by Putin.
“We will wait,” Peskov said.
“In the steps we have coordinated with the side of the US, we’ve managed to keep extremely sensitive points,” Zelenskyy told a conference in Sweden, speaking via video link.
These included “the full release of all Ukrainian prisoners of war under the all-for-all formula and civilians, and the complete return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.”
Kyiv has throughout the war said Russia had illegally taken Ukrainian children from occupied territories into Russia, seeking their return.
He said Ukraine stands at a “critical moment” and vowed to look for “compromises that strengthen but not weaken us.”
A 28-point US proposal last week spooked Europe, as it provided Moscow to gain even more territory that it occupies, with many in Kyiv and the EU seeing it as effective capitulation to Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir “Putin wants legal recognition for what he has stolen,” Zelenskyy said.
But even as the White House said in a separate statement that the talks marked “a “significant step forward”, a Russian drone strike on the major Ukrainian city of Kharkiv killed four people, its mayor said.
Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov said yesterday that it was “truly horrible” that despite the negotiations, “Russian troops are attacking civilian objects, civilian infrastructure, residential buildings”.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke of “tremendous” progress after a day of meetings in Geneva.
Rubio, whose delegation included Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and diplomatic envoy Steve Witkoff, told reporters that the work to narrow the areas of disagreement had advanced “in a very substantial way”.
“I can tell you that the items that remain open are not insurmountable,” he said, adding: “I honestly believe we’ll get there.”
Rubio stressed that any final agreement would “have to be agreed upon by the presidents, and there are a couple issues that we need to continue to work on” before trying to bring onboard the Kremlin, which welcomed the original proposal.
“Obviously, the Russians get a vote.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would speak with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin today. Turkey has hosted three rounds of talks on ending the war.
His comments came after Trump had earlier lashed out at Ukraine.
“UKRAINE ‘LEADERSHIP’ HAS EXPRESSED ZERO GRATITUDE FOR OUR EFFORTS,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, also accusing European countries of not doing enough to stop the war, but offering no direct condemnation of Moscow.
Not long after, Zelenskyy said on X that his country was “grateful to the United States… and personally to President Trump” for the assistance that has been “saving Ukrainian lives”.
Speaking in Geneva, Rubio said he thought Trump was “quite pleased at the reports we’ve given him about the amount of progress that’s been made”.
Asked about whether he believed a deal could be reached by Thursday, he said “the deadline is we want to get this done as soon as possible”.
“I think we made a tremendous amount of progress. I feel very optimistic that we’re going to get there in a very reasonable period of time, very soon.”
Want to know more about what’s happening in Ukraine and why? Check out our FactCheck Knowledge Bank for essential reads and guides to finding good information online.
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