US President Donald Trump has said a deal is closer than ever to end the war – which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
US and Russian officials are due to meet in Miami this weekend for further talks on a peace plan, a White House official told the AFP news agency. It is thought Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev will talk to Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
Ukrainian officials are also heading to the US, and President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is in Brussels, has told reporters that if Russia does not comply with US demands to end the war “in the near future, Ukraine will certainly need to be strengthened”.
Russia has not yet responded to the latest peace proposals, but the Kremlin has stressed that plans for a European-led multinational force for Ukraine supported by the US would not be acceptable.
President Vladimir Putin made his feelings towards Europe clear on Wednesday, when he said the continent was in a state of “total degradation” and that “European piglets” – a derogatory description of Ukraine’s European allies – were hoping to profit from Russia’s collapse.
