The US has signalled to President Volodymyr Zelensky that Ukraine must accept a US-drafted framework to end the war with Russia that proposes Kyiv giving up territory and some weapons, two people familiar with the matter said Wednesday.
The sources said the proposals included cutting the size of Ukraine's armed forces, among other things. Washington wants Kyiv to accept the main points, they said. Such a plan would represent a major setback for Kyiv.
A senior Ukrainian official earlier told Reuters that Kyiv had received "signals" about a set of US proposals to end the war that Washington has discussed with Russia. Ukraine has had no role in preparing the proposals, the source said.
Zelensky is due to meet US Army officials in Kyiv today. Russian forces have pressed on with Moscow's nearly four-year-old war in Ukraine, killing 25 people in strikes overnight. Russian President Vladimir Putin has long demanded Kyiv renounce plans to join the Nato military alliance and withdraw its troops from four provinces Moscow claims as part of Russia.
Moscow has given no indication that it has dropped any of those demands and Ukraine says it will not accept them.
Rescuers work at the site of the apartment building hit by a Russian missile strike, in Ternopil, Ukraine Wednesday.
