A Kremlin spokesman said talks were continuing as US President Donald Trump called for an end to the conflict.
Russia says U.S.-brokered talks to end the war with Ukraine are “serious,” but officials warn that a deal is still a long way off and that Russia will not make major concessions to Kiev.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in televised comments Wednesday that negotiations were ongoing and “the process is serious.”
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US President Donald Trump has submitted a 28-point plan, details of which were leaked last week, and will send his chief negotiator Steve Witkoff to Moscow in the coming days as his administration pushes to end the nearly four-year war.
However, Ukraine and its European allies had expressed concern that the U.S. proposal supported several demands from Russia, including for Ukraine to cede additional territory, limit the size of its military, and bar its membership in NATO.
The plan has since been revised and reportedly includes new proposals that take into account some of those concerns.
Trump also later said that although the war, in which Russian forces have been advancing in recent weeks, is only going in “one direction,” progress is being made and Russia is making concessions.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters on Wednesday that while he welcomed the U.S. effort, “there is no question of any concessions or abandonment of our approach on these important points.”
Jim Townsend, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, told Al Jazeera that Russia likely perceives Trump as impatient and unfocused and will deploy delaying tactics to avoid concessions.
“This could be a real mess. The Russians don’t feel any pressure. They think they can win if they hold out long enough,” Townsend said, adding that all the pressure so far has been on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
President Zelensky said on Tuesday he was ready to move forward with a U.S.-backed framework to end the war and discuss the issues with President Trump in a meeting that the Ukrainian leader said should include European allies.
Speaking at the White House on the same day, the president said that resolving the Ukraine war “will not be easy,” but added that “we are getting closer to a deal.”
“I thought it would be easier (to reach an agreement), but I think we are making progress,” he said.
But European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Karas said on Wednesday there was “no indication” that Russia was ready for a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Karas said more sanctions against Moscow were needed, along with greater support for Kiev, and insisted that any peace deal must include concrete concessions from Russia.
“Any agreement should focus on what Russia should do,” he said, adding that Europe must ensure Russia “will never attack again.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also said that while Europe wants the war to end as soon as possible, “an agreement negotiated by the great powers without the approval of the Ukrainians or the Europeans is not the basis for a real and sustainable peace.”
“Europe is not a plaything, but a sovereign entity with its own interests and values,” Merz told lawmakers in Berlin.
Drone attacks continue
Meanwhile, the city of Zaporizhia in southern Ukraine was hit by a large-scale Russian drone attack overnight.
Regional military administrator Ivan Fedorov said at least 19 people were injured and more than 50 residential buildings were damaged, including a crowded university dormitory.
Meanwhile, Russian air defense forces shot down 33 Ukrainian drones overnight over Russia and the Black Sea, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine also announced that the Ukrainian military attacked a manufacturing plant in Cheboksary, western Russia, that manufactures equipment and parts for cruise and ballistic missiles.
