WASHINGTON (TNND) — President Donald Trump spoke with European allies on Wednesday morning, and Ukraine is hoping a new plan worked out with the Europeans can bring an end to the war with Russia.
Ukraine and Europe worked on a revised 20-point peace deal, trying to bring an end to the fighting in the war that Russia started almost four years ago. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X Wednesday he’d be talking with US officials and “This week may bring news for all of us – and for bringing the bloodshed to an end.” Zelenskyy has spent the last few days meeting with European allies.
“I think unity between Europe and Ukraine, and also unity between Europe, Ukraine and the United States. There are some things which we can’t manage without Americans, things which we can’t manage without Europe and that’s why we need to make some important decisions,” he said Monday.
United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer continued to offer his country’s support for Ukraine.
“We stand with Ukraine, and if there is to be a ceasefire, it needs to be a just and lasting ceasefire. And that’s why it’s so important that we repeatedly set out the principle that matters about Ukraine and for Ukraine,” he said earlier this week.
Multiple U.S. plans have been presented to Russia and Ukraine, with both countries at times feeling that the deals were too deferential to the opposing side. Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., who sits on the Senate’s Foreign Relations committee, says the President is bringing people to the negotiating table.
“President Trump is putting pressure on both sides and he’s trying to create the room for peace to be negotiated. I’m pleased to see the parties talking I hope we get to results quickly,” he said Wednesday.
Some sticking points in the original plans included who would have control of contested land in Ukraine, security guarantees to prevent another Russian invasion, and Ukrainian elections that have been postponed because of the war. President Trump pressured Zelenskyy to accept a deal during an interview released this week by Politico.
“Russia has the upper hand. And they always did. They’re much bigger. They’re much stronger in that sense. He’s going to have to get on the ball and start accepting things. They’re losing,” he told Politico.
Zelenskyy denied he was trying to hold on to power with suspended elections, and said he is ready for them if the US and Europe could guarantee the vote would be secure.