LAST UPDATE | 25 Nov 2025

UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR Zelensky has said that the “principles” of a revised US plan to end the war with Russia could lead to “deeper agreements” and that “much depends” now on Washington.

US President Donald Trump said that a deal to bring Russia’s war against Ukraine to an end is “very close,” but European leaders have remained sceptical and Russian missiles have continued to rain down on Kyiv.

“The principles of this document can be expanded into deeper agreements,” Zelensky said in his daily address.

“I am counting on further active cooperation with the American side and with President (Donald) Trump. Much depends on America, because Russia pays the greatest attention to American strength,” he said.

Trump, visibly frustrated at his failure to make good on last year’s election boast that he could quickly end the war, said “we’re getting very close to a deal.”

An initial US plan which was heavily weighted in Russia’s favour has been replaced by one taking in more of Ukraine’s interests. And a Ukrainian official told AFP that the new version was “significantly better.”

However, US officials acknowledged that “delicate” issues remain.

And French President Emmanuel Macron threw cold water on the idea of a rapid solution, stating that there is “clearly no Russian willingness” for a ceasefire or to discuss the new, more Ukraine-friendly proposal.

Frantic discussions have been underway since the weekend when Ukrainian and US representatives huddled in Geneva to discuss Trump’s controversial, initial 28-point plan for settling the bloody conflict.

Latest talks including US and Russian delegates were taking place in Abu Dhabi, US media reported. Leaders of a group of 30 countries supporting Ukraine also met by video on Tuesday.

US negotiator Dan Driscoll emerged upbeat from meeting with Russian counterparts, his spokesman saying: “The talks are going well and we remain optimistic.”

The White House cited “tremendous progress,” while cautioning “there are a few delicate but not insurmountable details that must be sorted out.”

But the war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, continued unabated.

Powerful explosions rocked Kyiv last night, as Russian drones and missiles rained down, setting fires in apartment buildings. City officials said seven people were killed.

Thick smoke, turning red and orange in the blizzard of Ukrainian air defence fire, rose over the capital as residents fled underground into metro stations, AFP reporters said.

‘Tough road ahead’   

Trump, who long boasted he could negotiate an end to the Ukraine war within 24 hours, announced last week that he wanted his peace proposal approved by Kyiv by this Thursday – the US Thanksgiving holiday.

But the initial plan, pushing numerous Russian war aims, sparked alarm in Ukraine and Europe. Among its points were prohibitions on Ukraine ever joining NATO and requiring the country to surrender swaths of new territory to Russia.

The updated plan clearly pleases Ukraine more. The Ukrainian official told AFP that one key improvement was raising a proposed cap on the country’s future military forces from 600,000 to 800,000 members.

Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov said Tuesday there was “common understanding on the core” of the deal between Ukraine and the US.

However, remaining details should be hammered out in direct talks “at the earliest suitable date” between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Trump, he said.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned: “There’s still a long way to go and a tough road ahead.”

Russia’s military occupies around a fifth of Ukraine, much of it ravaged by fighting. Tens of thousands of civilians and military personnel have been killed and millions have fled the east of the country.

Ukrainian army Sergeant Ivan Zadontsev said negotiating was “healthy.”

“We also are getting tired of war. We need a break,” he told AFP.

But the proposals by both the United States and EU “do not serve Ukraine’s national interests,” he said.