By ILLIA NOVIKOV, AAMER MADHANI and JILL LAWLESS, Associated Press
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A planned meeting Wednesday between top U.S., British, French and Ukrainian diplomats to push forward a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine was scrapped at the last minute, with U.S. Vice President JD Vance saying negotiations are reaching a moment of truth.
“We’ve issued a very explicit proposal to both the Russians and the Ukrainians, and it’s time for them to either say yes or for the United States to walk away from this process,” Vance told reporters during a visit Wednesday to Agra, India.
He said it was “a very fair proposal” that would “freeze the territorial lines at some level close to where they are today,” with both sides having to give up some territory they currently hold. He did not provide further details of the proposal.
Vance’s comments came a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ruled out ceding territory to Russia as part of any potential peace agreement, calling it a nonstarter. The Ukrainian leader spoke Tuesday in response to reports the Trump administration was proposing a deal that would allow Russia to keep occupied Ukrainian territory as part of a potential peace agreement.
U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced the talks in London to find an end to the more than three-year war would involve only lower-ranking officials after the U.S. State Department said Tuesday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio was unable to attend because of a scheduling issue.
Rubio’s abrupt cancelation raised doubts about the direction of the negotiations.
Commenting on those attending the London talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that “as far as we understand, they so far have failed to bring their positions closer on some issues.”
He said the Kremlin was still in consultations with American officials but wouldn’t publicly discuss details.
U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to visit Moscow again later this week, according to Russian officials.
Even achieving a limited, 30-day ceasefire has been beyond the reach of negotiators, as both sides have continued to attack each other in a grinding war of attrition along the 620-mile front line and launch long-range strikes.
A Russian drone struck a bus carrying workers in Marganets, in eastern Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region on Wednesday morning, killing eight women and one man, regional head Serhii Lysak wrote on his Telegram channel. More than 40 people were injured, he said.
Lysak published photos of a bus with its windows blown out and shards of glass mixed with blood spattered on the bus floor.
Ukrainian delegation arrives in London despite change in U.S. plans
President Donald Trump has pushed for an end to the war and said last week that negotiations were “coming to a head.” That comment came after Rubio suggested that the U.S. might soon back away from negotiations if they don’t progress.
Rubio had indicated that Wednesday’s meeting could be decisive in determining whether the Trump administration remains engaged.
Those still attending the meeting included retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s envoy for Ukraine and Russia.
Andrii Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, said on X that a delegation including him, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov had arrived in London for the talks despite the alterations.
“The path to peace is not easy, but Ukraine has been and remains committed to peaceful efforts,” Yermak said. Officials would “discuss ways to achieve a full and unconditional ceasefire as the first step toward a comprehensive settlement and the achievement of a just and lasting peace.”
Zelenskyy rejects ceding territory to Moscow
During similar talks last week in Paris, U.S. officials presented a proposal that included allowing Russia to keep control of occupied Ukrainian territory as part of a deal, according to a European official familiar with the matter.
Zelenskyy pushed back against that during an appearance in Kyiv, saying: “There is nothing to talk about — it is our land, the land of the Ukrainian people.”
Russia, meanwhile, has effectively rejected a U.S. proposal for an immediate and full 30-day halt in the fighting by imposing far-reaching conditions.
Trump said repeatedly during his election campaign last year that he would be able to end the war “in 24 hours” upon taking office. But he has expressed frustration with Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Some European allies are wary of the American proposal for Ukraine to exchange land for peace. But an official said there’s also acknowledgment by some allies that Russia is firmly entrenched wholly or partially in five regions of Ukraine — Crimea, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
If the goal is to obtain a ceasefire immediately, “it should be based on the line of contact as it is,” said a senior French official. The official was not authorized to be publicly named and spoke on the condition of anonymity according to French presidential policy.
Moscow holds advantage on the battlefield
Still, Ukraine’s territorial integrity and aspirations to strengthen ties with the rest of the continent are a top priority for the Europeans, the European official said.
Britain had downplayed expectations of a breakthrough in London, but says this is an important week for diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting.
Western analysts say Moscow is in no rush to conclude peace talks, because it has battlefield momentum and wants to capture more Ukrainian land.
Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Ukraine’s delegation heading to the U.K. had a mandate to discuss only an unconditional or partial ceasefire with Russia. He said that “after a ceasefire, we’re prepared to sit down for talks in any format.”
Novikov reported from Kyiv and Madhani from Washington. Angela Charlton in Paris contributed.