Polish PM says it would be ‘good to know’ who wrote plan to end war in Ukraine, amid concerns over Moscow involvement – live

The Ukrainian delegation has held talks with European security officials in Geneva, according to the head of Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office, Andriy Yermak.

“Overall, a series of meetings in various formats is planned for today. We continue working together to achieve a lasting and just peace for Ukraine,” Yermak wrote in a post on X. “The next meeting is with the US delegation. We are in a very constructive mood.”

Speaking before Sunday’s talks, Alice Rufo, France’s minister delegate at the defence ministry, told broadcaster France Info that key points of discussion would include the plan’s restrictions on the Ukrainian army (the size of the armed forces would be capped at 600,000 people) which she described as “a limitation on its sovereignty”. “Ukraine must be able to defend itself,” she said.

Russia currently controls around 20% of Ukrainian territory and is continuing to make incremental gains on the battlefield.

The Russian defence ministry said this morning that Russian troops captured three villages across two regions of Ukraine: the villages of Tykhe and Odradne in the Dnipropetrovsk region and Petrivske in the Donetsk region.

We have not yet been able to independently verify these claims.

There have been lots of conflicting reports about who wrote the 28-point plan to end the war in Ukraine, which is widely seen to favour Russia as it endorses some of Moscow’s key maximalist positions.

A group of US senators say they were told by Marco Rubio that the plan is in fact not an American proposal and did not reflect Washington’s official position, claims heavily disputed by the US state department.

The senators claim that the secretary of state told them it was a Russian plan leaked by a representative from Moscow that the US had agreed to pass along to Ukraine to consider and then respond to.

“Secretary Rubio made a phone call to us this afternoon. I think he made it very clear to us that we are the recipients of a proposal that was delivered to one of our representatives. It is not our recommendation, it is not our peace plan. It is a proposal that was received,” Republican senator Mike Rounds, who sits on the Senate intelligence committee, was quoted as having said on Saturday.

“As an intermediary, we have made arrangements to share it. And we did not release it,” he added.

Following the comments, Rubio hit back by saying: “The peace proposal was authored by the US. It is offered as a strong framework for ongoing negotiations. It is based on input from the Russian side. But it is also based on previous and ongoing input from Ukraine.”

Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, one of Ukraine’s staunchest allies, added to the speculation this morning, saying in a post on X that “it would be good to know for sure who is the author of the plan and where it was created” before work begins on discussing its provisions.

The US secretary of state Marco Rubio and US special envoy Steve Witkoff have arrived in Geneva for talks to discuss Washington’s draft plan to end the war, the Reuters news agency has just quoted an American official as having said.

As a reminder, France, the UK and Germany will have national security advisers at the Geneva talks, and the Ukrainian delegation will be represented by Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s head of office Andriy Yermak, among others.

British prime minister Keir Starmer said his national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, would be in Geneva. Italian diplomatic sources told the AFP news agency that Rome was sending national security advisor Fabrizio Saggio.

Ahead of the talks in Geneva, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a social media post this morning that Russia has continued to attack residential buildings, civilian infrastructure and energy facilities across Ukraine over the past week, launching over 1,050 drones and nearly 1,000 glide bombs.

Announcing the end of a search and rescue mission, he said six children were among 33 people killed in a Russian attack on blocks of flats in the western city of Ternopil on Wednesday morning.

Zelenskyy added in his post on X that six people are still missing after the deadly airstrike, which was one of the deadliest in the region since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. He also listed other Russian attacks, including in Dnipro and Nikopol.

Zelenskyy wrote:

Already today, our advisors will be working in Switzerland with representatives of the United States, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. But in parallel with the diplomatic track, we must do everything to strengthen our defense against such wicked Russian attacks.

It is extremely important to speed up the implementation of all our agreements with partners regarding air defense systems and missiles for them. I thank everyone who helps protect lives. I thank everyone who works for peace.

Here is a bit more detail on what is contained within the draft US-Russia plan:

- Territory: “Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk will be recognised as de facto Russian, including by the United States,” the plan reads. Kyiv still partly holds Luhansk and Donetsk, which together make up the Donbas industrial belt on the frontline of the war. Crimea was annexed by Russia in 2014.

Areas from which Ukraine has withdrawn in Donetsk would be deemed a demilitarised zone which Russian forces will not enter, according to the plan.

The southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia – which Russia falsely claims to have annexed – will be “frozen along the line of contact,” it said.

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- Security: The plan calls for Ukraine to reduce its army to 600,000 personnel, a reduction of hundreds of thousands compared to its current size.

Nato would agree not to station troops in Ukraine – dashing Kyiv’s hopes for a European peacekeeping force – and the country would be barred from joining Nato.

- Diplomacy: Under the proposed deal, Russia would be “reintegrated into the global economy” after nearly four years of tough sanctions and be allowed back into the G8.

“It is expected that Russia will not invade neighbouring countries and Nato will not expand further,” the document says, according to multiple media outlets.

But all sanctions would snap back if Russia invades Ukraine again – “in addition to a decisive coordinated military response.” In addition, $100bn in frozen Russian assets would be dedicated to rebuilding Ukraine.

Welcome back to our live coverage of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Ukrainian and American officials will meet in Switzerland on Sunday for emergency talks to discuss a draft US plan to end the war that is widely seen as being favourable to Moscow despite Russia launching the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

The 28-point draft plan, which was leaked last week, includes proposals that Kyiv had previously ruled out, including handing over areas of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.

It also says that Ukraine should limit its military and relinquish its ambitions to join Nato. Ukraine would receive “reliable security guarantees”, the plan says without specifying.

Washington has given Kyiv a deadline of Thursday to respond, but Kyiv is seeking changes to the draft plan, which European and Ukrainian officials have said amounts to a “capitulation”.

The US president, Donald Trump, has said the plan is not the “final offer”, suggesting an extension could be possible. He has repeatedly expressed frustration at both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Russian and Ukrainian leaders, for the lack of progress in negotiations.

A meeting has been hastily convened in Geneva later today, where national security advisers from the E3 – France, Britain and Germany – will reportedly meet EU, American and Ukrainian officials for further discussions.

Both the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff, will attend the Geneva meeting on Sunday.

Ukraine’s delegation is led by the head of Zelenskyy’s office, Andriy Yermak, and includes top security officials.

Stick with us as we bring you the latest developments throughout the day.