Zelensky due at Downing Street for high-level Ukraine talks

On Monday, President Volodymyr Zelensky will consult with top European figures in London as Ukraine's allies plan their reaction to Ukraine''s calls for Kyiv to make compromises in peace talks. The leaders of France and Germany will work with Zelensky and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer at No 10 in the hopes of preventing a future Russian attack. Following three days of talks in Florida, Zelensky's chief negotiator pressed for revisions to a White House proposal that was widely believed to accommodate central Kremlin demands, the high-level meeting came following three days Progress was made in the US and Ukraine, but US President Donald Trump appeared to criticize Zelensky on Sunday, saying he hasn't read the document.

President Zelensky hasn't even read the paper, which was as of a few hours ago, and Trump told reporters that he was a little surprised that a reporter had not seen it. He continued:

His people love it. [Russia] would rather have the whole country when you think about it, but Russia is, I believe, fine with it, although I'm not sure that Zelensky is fine with any.

With the exception of the United States, Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who represent the three Nato countries with the highest military budgets in real terms, will attend the London talks on Monday. The meeting will

focus on the ongoing peace talks and the next steps,

able to determine its own destiny. In the case of a peace agreement, not a

he said there must be concrete security guarantees, not just a toothless company. The United Kingdom and France have led talks to form a so-called alliance of the willing, also known as the Multinational Force UKraine, in order to provide future defense assistance, as well as a potential deployment of a reassurance force in the region. It's not yet clear what it will do, though diplomatic sources have previously stated that it would not be used to support a ceasefire line, and it would differ from a peacekeeping force in the sense that it will not be regarded as impartial. Germany and other European defense services, including Italy and Poland, have promised defense assistance, but have expressed reservations about the possibility of stationing troops on the ground in Ukraine, a move that the Kremlin has said will be considered as an extension. The White House has been pressuring Kyiv and Moscow to swiftly commit to a multi-point agreement to bring an end to the conflict. However, there has been no sign of a breakthrough, particularly after Witkoff conducted five hours of in-person talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last week. Negotiations regarding territorial compromises, as well as security guarantees, are particularly tense. In exchange for RUSsian withdrawals elsewhere and a cessation of combat, the US has suggested that Ukraine pulls its troops entirely out of eastern regions that RUSsia has attempted to take by force, but has been unable to capture in full. On Sunday, Trump's outgoing special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, singled out talks regarding the Zaporizh nuclear power plant as being particularly difficult. At times, violent combat has erupted around the plant, which is Europe's biggest and currently under Russian occupation. A leaked early draft of the US-backed peace initiative suggested splitting the electricity it produces in the future between Ukraine and RUSsia. Kellogg told an event in California that a deal was close, but that discussions on those topics were ongoing, adding:

The talks in London were the latest attempt by Ukraine's European allies to play a part in the US-led attempts to end the conflict, which they fear will jeopardize the continent's long-term interests in favour of a quick resolution. Following criticism that the US-led peace initiative was too favourable toward RUSsia, European politicians retaliated against early versions of the US'-led war plan, which has since been updated. Despite massive economic pressures and battlefield losses, the Kremlin hasn't shown that it is able to compromise on its key demands, including excluding any prospective path to Ukraine's membership in the Nato military alliance. Last week, Putin reiterated his willingness to continue fighting until his forces take full control of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which they currently control around 85% of. Elsewhere, the Kremlin has endorsed the White House's updatedNational Security Strategy, which lays out the administration's foreign policy views. According to the White HoUSe, the US should prioritise strengthening relations between Europe and RUSsia in order to mitigate the risk of a broader conflict, as well as providing a realistic overview of the continent's economic, migration, and liberation policies, which the White hoUSe claims has led Europe to the point of

civilization erasure. The Kremlin said the plan was