The issue of ceding territory remains a major sticking point in negotiations, and Vladimir Putin last week reiterated his goal to take eastern Ukraine “by force” unless his demands are met.

Ukraine delivered its response to the latest US-drafted peace proposal aimed at ending the war with Russia to the Trump administration on Wednesday, US and Ukrainian officials told CNN, as the contours of a tenuous potential deal take shape and the US president continues to make clear he wants the conflict resolved quickly.

Germany will host U.S. and Ukrainian delegations over the weekend for talks on a ceasefire in Ukraine, ahead of a summit with European leaders and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Berlin on Monday, a German official said on Saturday.

The president said he had exchanged “pretty strong words” with European leaders, while Russia signaled it saw itself as increasingly on the same page as the U.S.

Pope Leo XIV is insisting that Europe must have a role in any Ukraine peace deal. And he is criticizing what he says is the Trump administration’s effort to “break apart” the long-standing U.S.

President Trump’s diplomacy-focused national security strategy—calling Europe “in civilizational decline” and restoring the Monroe Doctrine—is stirring concern among European leaders and complicating efforts to end the war in Ukraine as Zelenskyy pushes for continued support.

European governments are fearful that Washington is laying the groundwork for an ultimatum to Kyiv on Moscow's terms.

British, French and German leaders met in London with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a show of European support for Kyiv at what they called a “critical moment” in the U.S.

If not by negotiation then by military means, this territory will come under the full control of the Russian federation’ top foreign policy aid Ushakov said about the Donbas region