Russia Rejects Changes to U.S. Peace Plan, Dimming Hopes for Ukraine War Endgame

Russia has dismissed amendments made by European countries and Ukraine to a U.S.-proposed peace plan, signaling a significant setback in diplomatic efforts to end the nearly four-year-long war.

"I am sure that the proposals that the Europeans and Ukrainians have made or are trying to make definitely do not improve the document and do not improve the possibility of achieving long-term peace," Yury Ushakov, a top foreign policy aide to President Vladimir Putin, was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies on Sunday.

In response, European and Ukrainian negotiators have met with Trump's envoys to incorporate their own proposals, though the current draft's exact contents remain undisclosed. Ushakov's stark remarks followed a weekend of talks in Miami between Putin's special envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, and U.S. officials, including special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Following parallel talks between his team and U.S. officials on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed the need for further coordination with allies. "There is a shared sense that after the work by our diplomatic team in the United States, we should now hold consultations with European partners in a broader circle," Zelenskyy posted on X on Sunday.

Zelenskyy had previously said on Saturday that Ukraine would support a U.S. proposal for three-way talks with the U.S. and Russia if it could facilitate prisoner exchanges and pave the way for a leaders' summit.

However, Ushakov flatly rejected the idea, stating that a proposal for three-way talks "had not been seriously discussed by anyone and that it was not being worked on." Russia claims European leaders are deliberately trying to scuttle the talks by introducing conditions they know Moscow will find unacceptable. Meanwhile, Russia's military has continued its advance, taking 12-17 square kilometers (4.6 to 6.6 square miles) of Ukrainian territory per day in 2025.

Fighting Intensifies on the Ground

As diplomacy stalls, the conflict rages on. The Ukrainian army reported on Sunday it was battling an attempted Russian breakthrough in the northern Sumy region. This follows reports that Moscow forcibly relocated 50 people from a border village there, marking a renewed Russian push in an area largely spared from intense ground combat since Ukraine's swift 2022 counter-offensive.

"Fighting is currently ongoing in the village of Grabovske," Ukraine's joint task force said, adding its troops were "making efforts to drive the occupiers back into Russian territory."

Underscoring the intensity of the war, Zelenskyy said that over the past week alone, "Russia has launched approximately 1,300 attack drones, nearly 1,200 guided aerial bombs, and nine missiles of various types" against Ukraine.