A revised 20-point peace deal will be on the table during talks between Trump and Zelensky on Sunday
Poland was forced to scramble fighter jets and close two airports as Kyiv was bombarded overnight by Russian drones and missiles.
The Polish Air Navigation Services Agency said Rzeszow and Lublin airports in southeastern Poland have been temporarily closed, while the armed forces dispatched fighter jests in response to the Russian strikes.
The Ukrainian capital was pounded overnight and into Saturday with almost 500 drones and 40 missiles.
At the time of writing, one person was killed, more than 20 were injured, and more than 320,000 households in the Kyiv region were left without power and more than 2,600 residential buildings, 187 nurseries and 138 schools in Kyiv without heating as temperatures hover around freezing, according to authorities.
Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky said attacks were ongoing early on Saturday, adding that while Russian officials hold “long conversations” with the US, the “daggers and shaheeds are speaking for them”.
Zelensky is due to meet Donald Trump to work out a deal to end nearly four years of war.
Kyiv came under heavy bombardment from Russian drones and missiles (Photo: Ukrainian Emergency Service/AFP)
Are there steps towards peace?
Talks between the sides have been ongoing for months, with a series of proposals and counterproposals put forward.
One major sticking point to the talks has been the prospect of US security guarantees should Ukraine surrender territory, or the territory be transformed into demilitarised zones.
Zelensky told reporters a US security guarantee “is almost ready”, with the majority of a 20-point peace proposal nearing completion.
Talks will be held in Florida on Sunday and will focus on the territory to be controlled by each side following an end to the fighting, which began in February 2022 with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
A firefighter works at the site of a residential building damaged during Russian missile and drone strikes (Photo: Ukrainian Emergency Service/ Reuters)
Posting on social media, he said: “A lot can be decided before the New Year.”
Trump, however, appeared to be less conclusive over the guarantee ahead of the meeting.
“He doesn’t have anything until I approve it,” Trump told Politico. “So we’ll see what he’s got.”
What is included in the 20-point plan?
The 20-point deal, reworked from an original 28-point plan and made public on Christmas Eve.
The new 20-point peace plan:
- a guarantee of Ukrainian sovereignty
- a non-aggression agreement between Russia and Ukraine
- security guarantees for Ukraine
- Ukraine’s armed forces will remain at 800,000-strong
- US, Nato and European allies will provide guarantees of collective defence to deter Russian aggression
- Russia will adopt a policy of non-aggression towards Ukraine and Europe
- Ukraine will join the EU
- Ukraine will receive a global development package
- Ukraine will remain a non-nuclear state
- an all-party agreement to the plan will lead to an immediate ceasefire
Donald Trump will meet with Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday (Photo: Jim Watson and Tetiana Dzhafarova/ AFP/ Getty)
The pinch point in the deal
Russia, the US and Ukraine have remained at loggerheads over the state of territory and security proposals.
So far, Russia has taken over most of Luhansk and around 70 per cent of Donetsk, key eastern territories of Ukraine.
Moscow has insisted that Kyiv give up the remaining territory in Donbas that it has not captured, but Ukraine has refused to accept this.
“There are two options,” Zelensky said. “Either the war continues, or something will have to be decided regarding all potential economic zones.”
The US has proposed a compromise of transforming the areas into a free economic zone or demilitarised zone, but Ukraine has insisted that any arrangement must hinge on a referendum allowing citizens to decide their own fate.
Zelensky says the area should be demilitarised with an international force present to ensure stability.
The other sticking point is how the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which is currently under Russian occupation, will be managed. The US has proposed that the enterprise be jointly operated by Ukraine, the US and Russia, with each side having an equal stake.
There has also been discussion over whether Europe would lead a multinational force in Ukraine following the conflict. Sir Keir Starmer has been a leading proponent in a so-called “Coalition of the Willing”.
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Zelensky told news website Axios the US had offered a 15-year deal on security guarantees, subject to renewal.
But Kyiv wants a longer agreement, with legally binding provisions to guard against further Russian aggression.
Ahead of Sunday’s meeting, Trump and Zelensky were expected to hold a call on Saturday with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and other European leaders, a commission spokesperson said.