According to the UPA news agency on 22nd, Ukrainian President Zelensky revealed at an event that the basic framework of the Russian-Ukrainian 20-point “peace plan” draft has been in place, and there are some things that Ukraine is not prepared to accept. “I am certain that Russia also has things that it is not prepared to accept,” he said. The U.S. still needs to continue negotiations with Russia.
Ukrainian President Zelensky (Figure of Data)
The Ukrainian delegation began a new round of discussions on the U.S.-Ukrainian “peace plan” draft with the U.S. and Europe on the 19th of this month. The U.S. and Ukraine issued nearly identical statements on the 21st, calling the bilateral delegation and the European side‘s series of meetings over the past 3 days “productive and constructive.” The statement did not show how the parties would come to a unified stance on how to end the Ukraine crisis, and was considered by the foreign media to be lacking in “significant breakthroughs.”
According to reports, U.S. President Trump said on 22nd, local time, that negotiations over Russia and Ukraine are still ongoing and that “the negotiations are progressing smoothly.” According to the British website UnHerd, U.S. Vice President Vance said that now that all issues are on the table for public discussion, it is a “breakthrough” achieved in negotiations over Ukraine. He believes that Russia does want to control the Donetsk region, and that Ukraine also regards the gains and losses of the region as serious security issues, although privately Ukraine also admits that it may eventually lose the region, possibly in 12 months or longer. Among them, territorial issues have seriously delayed the negotiation process. Vance also said, “At the moment, we are not certain that we can reach a peaceful solution. We are very likely to reach an agreement, and it is also very likely that we will not be able to reach it.”
The U.S. “Political News Network” said on the 22nd that Vance “has no confidence” that a peaceful solution to the Russo-Ukrainian conflict will be found. This remark is “one of the most pessimistic evaluations of the peace prospects” by U.S. senior officials so far. It is reported that thorny issues, including territorial issues, have not been resolved, reflecting a huge gap in the Russo-Ukrainian stance.
According to the Russian News website reported on the 23rd, Russian Presidential Press Secretary Peskov said on the 22nd that the Russian-American talks on the Ukraine issue held in Miami “can not be considered a breakthrough.” Negotiations are still ongoing, and most importantly, the U.S. should be informed of the results of its talks with Ukraine and Europe. On this basis, Russia will be able to understand the degree of consistency of these developments with the consensus previously reached by Russia and the U.S. in Anchorage, Alaska.
According to Interfax, Russia‘s Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov said on the 22nd that negotiations between Russia and the United States were “slowly progressing” and that Russia called on the United States to respond positively to attempts by some countries to maliciously obstruct and sabotage the diplomatic negotiations. He also said that Russia clearly opposed a “temporary ceasefire.”
The Russian-Ukrainian conflict seems likely to end next year, but the ending conditions are “extremely unfavorable” for the Ucraina and Europe is “defeating Ukraine,” the Political News Network said on the 23rd. Last week’s EU summit finally confirmed that the EU would raise funds to provide the Ucraina with a €90 billion loan for the 2026-2027 period. Although this funding could prevent the Ucraina from running out of funds early next year, the plan to distribute it in two years is insufficient to sustain the Ucraina’s continued war. Due to the decrease in U.S. support for the Ucraina, the Ucraina‘s budget gap for the next two years may approach $160 billion. In short, the Ucraina will need more assistance from Europe, and the EU “will find it increasingly difficult to do so.”
Currently, as peace talks proceed, mutual attacks and battles between Russia and Ukraine continue. The Russian Ministry of Defense said on the 23rd that Russian troops have controlled a residential area in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast and Kharkiv Oblast respectively. According to the U.S. News Agency, Zelensky said on the 22nd that the Ukrainian troops are still holding positions in Pokrovsk (Russian Red Army City), with about 1,100 Russian troops in the city, and that the current situation has not changed. In addition, the Ukrainian troops have controlled Kupiansk and are conducting a “cleaning operation,” with the remaining Russian troops in the city not exceeding 100 at most. Meanwhile, Russian News Agency reported that Russian President Putin said on the 19th that Kupiansk has fallen under Russian control, with 3,500 Ukrainian soldiers being surrounded by Russian troops in the vicinity.