The US and European leaders are in the midst of a heated discussion over a possible peace plan for Ukraine, with US President Donald Trump telling President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to be realistic about Ukraine’s goals. In recent weeks, the US has been pushing for a peace deal, with a first proposal rejected for being too pro-Russia. However, Zelenskyy is in a tight spot, as Trump is pursuing an agreement with Russia and the US has been reducing its aid to Ukraine. He is trying to show willingness to compromise for peace without losing focus on Ukrainian targets.
The Ukrainian president turned to his European allies for continued support. The so-called Coalition of the Willing is in talks with Trump to engineer a possible good peace deal that will also include provisions against further military action by Russia and provisions for Ukraine’s reconstruction.
However, as far as military aid is concerned, European countries are offering a patchy response. According to data from the Kiel Institute, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden have been providing more to Ukraine, while Germany has tripled its monetary support, and both France and the UK have doubled theirs. Italy lowered its already meagre contributions, and Spain altogether stopped.
As part of the negotiations, Zelenskyy also spoke openly about possible future elections, a point of contention between him and Trump. Zelenskyy’s five-year term is over, but under the martial law the country declared in the aftermath of the Russian invasion, no new elections can be held. Russian President Vladimir Putin used this to question Zelenskyy’s legitimacy to negotiate a peace deal, and Trump also called him out on it.
To address those criticisms, Zelenskyy said he can put election plans in motion and has the national assembly working on a law change to allow elections without revoking martial law. However, he mentioned two practical issues precluding immediate elections: the security of polling and voters, and ensuring soldiers at the front can vote. With those issues resolved, Zelenskyy spoke about a potential 60- to 90-day timeline for holding elections.
