Zelenskyy rallies allies as Trump pushes for rapid Ukraine–Russia peace deal

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was set on Thursday to convene urgent consultations with leaders and senior officials from roughly 30 nations backing Kyiv’s push for a just settlement to Russia’s invasion. The virtual meeting, informally termed the 'Coalition of the Willing', was expected to draw participation from the leaders of Germany, France and the United Kingdom, underscoring Europe’s deepening anxiety about the direction of the peace process.

Zelenskyy signalled that the talks had been pulled together at speed, as Kyiv races to avoid being cornered by US President Donald Trump’s insistence on a rapid end to the conflict. European governments, conscious that the outcome will shape the continent’s security architecture for decades, are attempting to insert themselves more forcefully into the diplomatic effort.

Trump, speaking on Wednesday, said he had spoken with European leaders “in pretty strong terms”, and reiterated his view that Zelenskyy “has to be realistic” about Kyiv’s position as discussions evolve around a peace plan that would require Ukraine to cede territory to Russia. He offered no further detail.

The White House has previously floated a series of deadlines for Ukrainian acceptance of the plan — most recently ahead of Thanksgiving — all of which have passed without agreement.

Moscow, meanwhile, is trying to show it is engaging seriously with Trump’s initiative, keen to head off the threat of additional US sanctions. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that the Kremlin had presented Washington with “additional proposals … concerning collective security guarantees,” which Russia argues must extend beyond Ukraine to the wider European theatre.

He declined to reveal the substance of the proposals, though Kyiv and its European partners have maintained that any future security framework must be designed to deter further Russian aggression.

Even as diplomacy accelerated, the conflict on the ground intensified. Ukraine launched one of its largest drone barrages of the nearly four-year war overnight, prompting the suspension of flights at all four Moscow airports for seven hours. Restrictions were also imposed at airports in eight other Russian cities, according to Rosaviatsia, the country’s civil aviation regulator. Russia’s defence ministry claimed its air defences intercepted 287 Ukrainian drones across multiple regions.

The scale of the operation served as a pointed reminder of Kyiv’s ability to strike far beyond the front line, at a moment when the Kremlin is attempting to project an image of negotiating from a position of strength. Despite launching the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Russia controls only around 20 per cent of Ukrainian territory, a fact Western analysts say continues to undermine Moscow’s maximalist demands.

European leaders warned on Wednesday that the talks had reached “a critical moment”. Zelenskyy later said Ukraine would step up bilateral coordination with European capitals next week as governments prepare for an EU summit in Brussels at the end of the month. “Ukraine is working swiftly,” he stressed, framing the diplomatic sprint as essential to preventing an imposed settlement.

With AP/PTI inputs