Europeans push back at US plan that would force concessions from Ukraine

European countries pushed back on Thursday against a US-backed peace plan for Ukraine that sources said would require Kyiv to give up more land and partially disarm, conditions long seen by Ukraine's allies as tantamount to capitulation, Report informs via Reuters.

Two sources said Washington had signalled to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Kyiv must accept a US-drafted framework to end the war, which includes territorial concessions and curbs to Ukraine's armed forces. The sources spoke to Reuters on condition they were not identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.

The acceleration in US diplomacy comes at an awkward time for Kyiv, with its troops on the back foot on the battlefield and Zelenskiy's government undermined by a corruption scandal. Parliament fired two cabinet ministers on Wednesday.

Moscow played down any new US initiative.

"Consultations are not currently underway. There are contacts, of course, but there is no process that could be called consultations," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

He said Russia had nothing to add beyond the position President Vladimir Putin laid out at a summit with US President Donald Trump in August, adding that any peace deal must address the "root causes of the conflict", a phrase Moscow has long used to refer to its demands.

European Union foreign ministers meeting in Brussels did not comment in much detail about a US plan, but indicated they would not accept demands for Kyiv to make punishing concessions.

"Ukrainians want peace - a just peace that respects everyone's sovereignty, a durable peace that can't be called into question by future aggression," said French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot. "But peace cannot be a capitulation."