European officials privately anticipate a positive result from Sunday's meeting between the US and Ukrainian presidents but are preparing for unpredictable scenarios, CNN reports.
The meeting between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump is not expected to include European leaders, according to American and European officials who spoke with the network.
Ukrainians have been pushing for a meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump for months, European officials told CNN.
Europe expects a positive outcome because officials view the current dynamic between the US and Ukraine as productive, CNN writes, though they acknowledge that any meeting with Trump carries inherent unpredictability.
"There is no low-risk scenario with Trump," one NATO official told CNN.
American sources expressed hope the Trump-Zelenskyy meeting would be productive following a week of intensive work between American and Ukrainian negotiators, according to the network.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed Friday that he will meet his American counterpart Donald Trump on 28 December.
Trump told Politico he expects the meeting to "go good" but warned that Zelenskyy "doesn't have anything until I approve it." He added he also expects to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin "soon, as much as I want."
Zelenskyy told reporters the 20-point peace plan hammered out by Ukrainian and US officials is "90% ready" and said he plans to discuss with Trump how Ukraine's allies could guarantee its security in the future.
The Ukrainian leader cautioned Friday he could not say whether the meeting would lead to a firm agreement but said the two sides would aim to "finalize as much as we can." Earlier Friday, Zelenskyy wrote on X that "a lot can be decided before the New Year."
While US officials did not cite a specific goal for the meeting, Zelenskyy told Axios on Friday he wanted to conclude a framework to end the war.
Less than 24 hours after Trump's comments, Russia launched a massive aerial attack on Kyiv. The attack injured at least eight people, and killed one, city officials reported. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported fires in multiple high-rise buildings across the capital. Rescue operations continue.
A CNN reporter in the capital heard attack drones flying overhead and a series of explosions early on 27 December when Air Force warnings were in place.
Fires broke out across the city, engulfing a car repair shop and several residential buildings, forcing elderly residents to evacuate a care home as flames spread, according to Kyiv Emergency Service.
Poland scrambled fighter jets and temporarily closed two airports in response to the attacks, Reuters reported, citing a post by the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency on X. The shutdowns of Rzeszow and Lublin airports in the country's southeast were triggered by "unplanned military activity related to ensuring state security," according to a Notice to Airmen posted on the US Federal Aviation Administration's website.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will join a call on Saturday with Zelenskyy, Trump and other European leaders, a commission spokesperson told Reuters.
In preparation for Sunday's meeting, Zelenskyy said on 26 December he had spoken with the leaders of NATO, Canada, Germany, Finland, Denmark and Estonia to coordinate their positions. "Ukraine has never been and will never be an obstacle to peace, and we will continue working efficiently to ensure all necessary documents are prepared as quickly as possible," he said.
Zelenskyy's announcement comes after he offered to compromise on some of the thorniest issues that have stalled the US-mediated peace process with Russia. It remains unclear whether Zelenskyy's concessions will satisfy the Kremlin.
Asked about Zelenskyy's potential willingness to consider territorial concessions for a peace deal, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told CNN that "giving up the rest of Donetsk could contribute significantly."
The initial 28-point peace plan emerged in November following talks between the United States and Russia. Ukraine's allies criticized it as heavily favoring Moscow. Following weeks of talks between Ukrainian and US officials, that draft was slimmed down to the current 20-point plan, which Zelenskyy has said can serve as a "foundational document on ending the war."
Zelenskyy told reporters Ukraine had not received an official response from the Kremlin to the latest proposal. He said Kyiv is negotiating exclusively with Washington, which in turn is communicating with Moscow.
If Russia does not agree to the peace plan drafted by Ukraine and the United States, Zelensky suggested more should be done to force Moscow's hand. "If Ukraine shows its position, it is constructive – and Russia, for example, does not agree, then the (existing) pressure is not enough," Zelensky said, adding he wants to discuss this with Trump.
Russia's central demands are for Ukraine to abandon its ambition to join NATO and for Kyiv's military to withdraw fully from Ukraine's eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, a vast area known as the Donbas. The Kremlin started destabilizing Ukraine there in 2014, helping pro-Russian separatists gain control of most of the area. The Donbas was illegally annexed by Russia in September 2022.
Zelenskyy has offered concessions on both issues. During a press conference Tuesday to discuss the new 20-point peace plan, Zelenskyy said Ukraine was seeking security guarantees from its allies that would "mirror" NATO's Article 5 but would no longer pursue full membership of the military alliance.
Zelenskyy also said Ukraine would be willing to withdraw its troops from parts of the Donetsk Oblast not currently occupied by Russian forces. The Ukrainian leader said any withdrawal would have to be reciprocal, with Moscow giving up as much Ukrainian territory as that ceded by Kyiv and those pockets of the Donbas becoming demilitarized as a result. Earlier this month, Zelenskyy noted US negotiators wanted these territories to become "free economic zones" once all troops were withdrawn.
Ukraine's constitution requires any changes to the country's borders to be approved in a referendum. Zelenskyy reiterated Friday that "the fate of Ukraine should be decided by the people of Ukraine" and said Ukraine's allies "have enough power to force Russia or to negotiate with the Russians" to ensure any such plebiscite could be carried out safely.
