Ukraine<\/a> continues to suffer the swings and roundabouts of outrageous fortune <\/a>at the hands of American negotiators <\/a>but is learning how to survive the whirligig of the White House.<\/p>\n Donald Trump<\/a> and his envoys are neither honest brokers nor even allies of Kyiv<\/a>\u2019s fight to defend itself against Russian invaders<\/a>. But, for a little while, it seems that Ukraine<\/a> has managed to swing them away from being outright enemies.<\/p>\n American officials have reportedly told US media that some kind of a deal<\/a> has been struck in Abu Dhabi \u2013 after last weekend\u2019s talks in Geneva \u2013 and that the prospects for peace<\/a> in Ukraine<\/a> are looking good.<\/p>\n The nature of that deal is key. And there is no clarity on what version of a plan that is, or even whether it\u2019s a blueprint for peace or for just a ceasefire.<\/p>\n Kyiv<\/a> rejected last week\u2019s Trump administration plan<\/a> for total capitulation by Ukraine. There have been red faces in the White House since it was published, after some linguistic analysis suggested that it may have originally been written in Russian. <\/p>\n Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, apparently had no idea the proposal was in the works. European leaders condemned it, Ukraine rejected it, and Moscow<\/a> loved it.<\/p>\n Ukraine took the opening brouhaha as an opportunity to whisper its way through to Trump\u2019s people.<\/p>\n Over the weekend, Kyiv<\/a> and European leaders took the US proposal that the Russians liked so much and turned it inside out. <\/p>\n Out went Trump\u2019s suggestion that Ukraine give Russia land it hasn\u2019t even captured yet, give America preferential profit deals on projects the US had not even funded, and out went the cap on Ukraine\u2019s forces at 600,000. Out went a ban on Ukraine\u2019s Nato membership and in came a demand for Russian reparations.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Volodymyr Zelensky meeting US secretary of defence Daniel Driscoll last week (AP)<\/p>\n Above all, Ukraine would get \u201cchapter five type\u201d security guarantees from the US and all other allies, which would trigger a military conflict with Moscow<\/a> if Russia tried a new invasion. <\/p>\n Now, according to Ukraine\u2019s head of the national security council, Rustem Umerov, America has signed up to some of what was agreed with Europe and Ukraine at the weekend. <\/p>\n \u201cOur delegations reached a common understanding on the core terms of the agreement discussed in Geneva. We now count on the support of our European partners in our further steps,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n In Kyiv, a Ukrainian official deeply involved with ceasefire negotiations said that the US appeared to have agreed to adopt Ukraine\u2019s positions.<\/p>\n The official in president Volodymyr Zelensky\u2019s office said that if the deal was \u201cthe framework from Geneva, we\u2019re okay. It\u2019s not a bad framework to work further\u201d.<\/p>\n And Zelensky wrote on X: “Following the meetings in Geneva, we see many prospects that can make the path to peace real. There are solid results, and much work still lies ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n But it is not at all clear if the US has done a handbrake turn. Trump has consistently ruled out offering American forces as a guarantee for Ukraine\u2019s future security. <\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Keir Starmer speaks to the Coalition of the Willing on Tuesday (PA)<\/p>\n The Geneva plan allows for progressive sanctions to be lifted on Russia and for Moscow<\/a> to rejoin the G8 economic group of nations.<\/p>\n Trump wants to get back to business in Russia immediately.<\/p>\n Ukraine has said that US negotiators, led by Daniel Driscoll, had agreed to work within the terms of the new deal.<\/p>\n American officials, seldom given to clarity or veracity anyway, were more vague.<\/p>\n![\"Volodymyr](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/UCRANIA-GUERRA-EEUU_97807.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Keir](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Russian-invasion-of-Ukraine-849u8nsa.jpeg\")
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