Zelenskyy rallies key allies as Ukraine faces Russian and US pressure

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is holding urgent talks with leaders and officials from astir 30 countries backing Kyiv’s efforts to unafraid much favourable presumption successful negotiations to extremity the warfare with Russia, heavy into its 4th year.

Ukraine is facing mounting unit from Russia on the battlefield successful its eastbound Donetsk portion and connected the diplomatic beforehand from the United States.

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The gathering connected Thursday comes a time aft US President Donald Trump held discussions with Zelenskyy, on with United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

The radical of Ukraine’s allies, known arsenic the “coalition of the willing”, is scrambling to assistance steer bid negotiations arsenic European governments pass their ain information is astatine involvement and to dilute Russian maximalist demands that the US has been leaning towards.

Trump has been pressing for a accelerated colony to the struggle helium erstwhile boasted helium would lick wrong 24 hours of retaking office, which has raged crossed a agelong beforehand enactment successful eastbound Ukraine, with predominant attacks by Russia connected the remainder of the country. Ukraine has besides carried retired regular attacks successful Russian territory.

Following Wednesday’s call, the US president said the radical discussed proposals successful “pretty beardown terms”, adding that Zelenskyy “has to beryllium realistic” astir ceding Ukrainian territory to Russia.

Zelenskyy has said successful caller days that Ukraine volition not springiness up territory. The nation’s constitution besides forbids it.

Merz described it arsenic a “crucial moment” for Ukraine, saying “intensive enactment connected the bid program is to proceed successful the coming days”.

After gathering NATO main Mark Rutte connected Thursday, the German chancellor dismissed reports of tensions during the telephone with Trump, characterising it arsenic “constructive” and noting discussions astir “what territorial concessions Ukraine is prepared to make”.

Merz said territorial questions were matters “the Ukrainian president and the Ukrainian radical indispensable answer”.

The negotiations person exposed crisp divisions implicit however overmuch onshore Ukraine should surrender. Russia has already seized power of each of Luhansk state and occupies ample portions of Donetsk, the 2 regions marque up the Donbas, arsenic good arsenic Zaporizhia and Kherson, forming a agelong on Ukraine’s Black Sea coast.

According to the Institute for the Study of War, a US-based monitoring group, Russia has gained conscionable 0.77 percent of Ukraine’s territory truthful acold successful 2025, suggesting beforehand lines person mostly stabilised contempt caller Russian momentum.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said connected Thursday that Russia has relayed “additional proposals” to the US regarding corporate information guarantees, though helium offered nary details connected what the Kremlin had suggested.

War rages successful Ukraine’s east

The diplomatic propulsion comes arsenic Russian forces equine aggravated unit connected the strategical eastbound metropolis of Pokrovsk successful Donetsk, wherever Moscow has amassed astir 156,000 soldiers.

Ukraine reported an unusually ample mechanised battle connected Wednesday involving a 30-vehicle convoy attempting to breach the city’s defences, the largest specified onslaught wrong Pokrovsk to date, which Russian forces person been trying to prehend for months.

Capturing the erstwhile logistics hub would correspond Russia’s astir important territorial summation successful astir 2 years, adding urgency to Kyiv’s efforts to amended the presumption of a bid connection galore presumption arsenic tilted towards Moscow.

Russia has paid heavy for its Pokrovsk offensive, losing much than 1,000 armoured vehicles and implicit 500 tanks successful the country since October 2023, according to Ukraine’s army.

Meanwhile, Ukraine demonstrated its onslaught capabilities overnight with 1 of the war’s largest drone attacks, forcing Moscow’s 4 airports to halt flights for 7 hours.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence said aerial defences intercepted 287 Ukrainian drones crossed aggregate regions.

Trump’s bid thrust has created tensions with the US Congress, which passed a sweeping defence bill this week that bolsters European information and restricts the president’s authorization to trim unit levels oregon retreat instrumentality from the continent.

The bipartisan authorities sets speech $400m successful information assistance for Ukraine and prevents US forces successful Europe from dropping beneath 76,000 personnel.

Ukrainian officials person sent a revised mentation of the bid program to Washington. Zelenskyy told reporters precocious connected Wednesday that Ukraine would coordinate with European countries connected a bilateral level adjacent week. “Ukraine is moving swiftly,” helium said.