Particle.news

US Envoy Reports 'Big Progress' in Berlin Talks on Ukraine Ceasefire

European leaders now weigh security guarantees that Kyiv says could replace NATO membership.

Overview

  • President Volodymyr Zelensky met US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in the German Chancellery before broader sessions with European heads and EU and NATO chiefs.
  • Witkoff said delegations worked more than five hours on the revised 20‑point plan and will continue Monday, as Chancellor Friedrich Merz noted the US put substantial legal and material guarantees on the table.
  • Kyiv seeks binding protections and prefers freezing the current front line, with Zelensky rejecting Russian maximal territorial demands and stressing that any territorial changes would require a referendum.
  • Key questions remain over territorial arrangements and enforceable guarantees, Russia was not at the table and voiced skepticism, and fighting continued on several fronts during the talks.
  • EU capitals are debating how to use roughly €200–220 billion in frozen Russian state assets for Ukraine, with decisions expected to be taken up at an EU summit later this week.