Ukraine Unveils Updated Peace Strategy as Zelensky Rules Out Ceding Territory

Updated by Eric Kikomeko at 1525 EAT on Tuesday 9 December 2025

Ukraine is preparing to present a revised peace proposal to the White House as it seeks to avoid making any territorial concessions to Russia.

Kyiv is set to outline alternative terms after President Volodymyr Zelensky again ruled out surrendering land, insisting he had “no right” to do so under Ukrainian or international law.

His remarks followed meetings with European and NATO leaders on Monday, part of a broader effort to dissuade Washington from supporting any settlement that would require major concessions from Ukraine — a prospect allies warn could leave the country exposed to future Russian aggression.

Zelensky told reporters that his team could present the updated proposal to US officials as early as Tuesday, according to the AFP news agency.

Meanwhile, the city of Sumy in north-western Ukraine was plunged into darkness overnight following a Russian drone strike. The regional governor said more than a dozen drones had targeted power infrastructure in the latest wave of Moscow’s nightly attacks. Authorities were assessing the damage and checking for casualties.

In western Ukraine, the death toll from one of Russia’s deadliest recent strikes continued to climb. Ternopil’s police chief said two more bodies had been recovered following last month’s missile attack on the region, bringing the number of confirmed fatalities to 38, including eight children.

Zelensky’s ongoing diplomatic tour of Europe comes after days of intensive weekend talks between US and Ukrainian negotiators failed to yield terms acceptable to Kyiv. The president was expected to receive a full briefing on Monday from his chief negotiator, Rustem Umerov, who wrote on Telegram that he would relay details from direct US–Russian discussions involving President Vladimir Putin.

On the issue of territorial concessions, President Volodymyr Zelensky said: “Russia is insisting that we give up territories, but we don’t want to cede anything.”

He added: “We have no legal right to do so, under Ukrainian law, our constitution, and international law. And we don’t have any moral right either.”

Zelensky has consistently maintained that any changes to Ukraine’s borders would require approval via a public referendum.

On Tuesday, Russia’s chief of general staff, Valery Gerasimov, said Russian forces were advancing along Ukraine’s front line and targeting Myrnohrad, near the strategically important city of Pokrovsk. Moscow claims to have captured Pokrovsk, which would bring President Vladimir Putin closer to full control of Ukraine’s Donbas region, comprising Donetsk and Luhansk.

Ukraine has denied the claim. A Ukrainian command center recently provided the BBC with live footage showing Ukrainian soldiers still defending the city during a recent visit.

President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters that the initial 28-point plan proposed by the US — widely rejected by Kyiv and European leaders as overly favourable to Russia — had been reduced to 20 points, according to Interfax-Ukraine.

He said that no “pro-Ukrainian” elements had been removed from the draft, and emphasized that there had been no “compromise” on the question of territory. Zelensky singled out control of the eastern Donbas region and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant as among the “most sensitive” issues.

The original leaked version of the US-backed plan called for Ukraine to cede full control of Donbas to Russia, despite Kremlin forces failing to capture the region completely after nearly four years of conflict. Energy generated at Zaporizhzhia, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, would have been shared between Russia and Ukraine, according to the draft.

Kyiv and European leaders have indicated that progress has been made in refining the plan in recent weeks, and have praised the Trump administration for mediating efforts to end the fighting.

Monday’s hastily arranged Downing Street summit — attended by Zelensky, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz — was widely seen as a show of support for Ukraine amid White House pressure.

No 10 said the leaders agreed that the US-led talks represented a “critical moment” to intensify support for Ukraine, reiterating calls for a “just and lasting peace… which includes robust security guarantees.”

Credit to BBC.

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