- News
- World
- Europe
Moscow says European counterproposal ‘does not work for us’ in sign that both sides remain far apart
Arpan Rai,Tom AmbroseTuesday 25 November 2025 03:00 GMTComments
CloseWhat's Included In Trump’s 28-Point Ukraine Peace Plan?
On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents
Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents
Get a weekly international news dispatch
Email*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice
Russia has sunk Donald Trump’s hope that a peace deal in Ukraine can be achieved by Thanksgiving after the Kremlin said Europe’s counterproposal was not constructive and did not work for Moscow.
In a sign that both sides remain far apart, the Kremlin said that Europe’s demands for Ukraine would not be accepted by Vladimir Putin but said that an earlier proposal by the US seemed “quite acceptable to us”.
Trump claimed on Monday that progress was being made in peace talks in Geneva between US and Ukrainian officials. Washington and Kyiv said in a joint statement that they were working to narrow the gaps in the 28-point peace plan revealed by the US last week.
The US president had given Ukraine until Thanksgiving, this Thursday, to agree to the plan - but US officials later indicated the deadline could change.
Some EU leaders met to discuss Ukraine on the sidelines of an EU-African Union summit in Luanda on Monday, with others dialling in via video conference.
Recommended
The blacklisted businessman, the former film producer and the ex-soldier: Key players in Ukraine-Russia peace talks
When surrender is sold as strategy: Why Europe must reject Trump’s Moscow-approved Ukraine peace plan
Zelensky ‘could visit US this week’ as Trump races to seal Ukraine peace deal by Thanksgiving
Key Points
- Kremlin dismisses European proposal to counter Trump's peace deal
- Zelensky ‘could visit US this week’
- Poland charges Ukrainian with Russia-backed railway sabotage
Four injured as Ukrainian drones strike Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk
At least four people were injured in an overnight Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, officials said.
The Operational Headquarters in southern Krasnodar Region said on Telegram that five high-rise residences and two private homes had sustained damage in different districts of the city.
Falling debris from drones had triggered fires at two sites and emergency services were bringing them under control.
Earlier, fragments from downed drones had smashed windows and damaged buildings in Krasnodar, the region's administrative centre. Drones also damaged buildings and injured one person in a village south of Novorossiysk.
Russian air defences had earlier shot down 10 drones en route to Moscow, the defence ministry said, a day after a Ukrainian strike on a power plant cut off heating in a town near the capital.
File: A satellite image shows an overview of a damaged oil facilities at Russia's Novorossiysk Port after a Ukranian missile and drone attack (Vantor)Arpan Rai25 November 2025 03:00Russian drones trigger fires in Kyiv apartment buildings
Russian drones swarmed the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in the early hours today, striking and triggering fires in at least two residential buildings, officials said.
Officials said four people were injured. Air defence units were in action around the capital.
Tymur Tkachenko, head of the capital's military administration, said on Telegram that a high-rise residential building had been hit in a district on the east bank of the Dnipro River.
He said four people had been treated for injuries and at least eight rescued from the building. Pictures posted on unofficial Telegram channels showed apartments on fire on upper floors.
Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said a high-rise building was being evacuated after being hit in the Pechersk district in the city centre. Pictures posted on unofficial channels showed parts of a building ablaze.
Unofficial channels reported that drone fragments had also fallen in an open area in an eastern district of the city.
Klitschko also reported disruptions to the city's power and water supplies.
Arpan Rai25 November 2025 02:57Russian air defences halt fresh drone attack on Moscow
Russian air defences intercepted multiple drones targeting Moscow and surrounding regions on Monday, just a day after a Ukrainian strike on a power station left thousands without heating outside the capital.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that eight drones were shot down en route to the city, with emergency services deployed to the sites.
This followed an earlier statement from the Russian Defence Ministry, which claimed ten Ukrainian drones had been downed across three regions – Moscow, Kaluga, and Bryansk, which borders Ukraine.
The Monday attacks occurred in the wake of a Ukrainian drone strike on Sunday against the Shatura Power Station, located approximately 120 km (75 miles) east of Moscow.
This assault resulted in heating being cut off for thousands of residents in the town of some 33,000 people, where temperatures were near freezing.
Russian air defences halt fresh drone attack on Moscow
The attacks occurred in the wake of a Ukrainian drone strike against the Shatura Power StationTom Ambrose25 November 2025 02:30EU vows to keep supporting Ukraine with cash and weapons as peace talks continue
European Council president Antonio Costa pledged on Monday that the European Union will keep on supporting Ukraine, as he hailed "new momentum" in peace negotiations to end the war triggered by Russia's invasion.
"The European Union is committed to continue providing president Zelenskiy with all the support he needs - diplomatic support, military support, economic support," he told reporters in the Angolan capital Luanda, after chairing a meeting of EU leaders on Ukraine on the sidelines of a summit with the African Union.
"This concerns in particular, financial support to Ukraine," Costa added, recalling that EU leaders agreed last month to cover Ukraine's financial needs for the next two years.
"We committed to deliver ... and we will deliver at the December European Council," he said.
Tom Ambrose25 November 2025 01:01Russian power plant reopens after major strike by Kyiv
A heating and power plant in Russia's Moscow region has resumed operations after shutting down due to a fire caused by a Ukrainian drone strike, regional governor Andrei Vorobyov says.
The attack on the facility in Shatura, a town of about 33,000, cut heating for residents. It marked one of Kyiv's most significant strikes to date on a power station deep inside Russia.
Russia has been pummelling Ukraine's electricity and heat infrastructure, while Kyiv has until now mostly focused on trying to knock out Russia's oil refineries, crude terminals and pipelines.
A person stands by an emergency vehicle as fire and smoke rise around the Shatura Power Station in Shatura, Russia, after Ukrainian drones struck the facility early Sunday (Social media)Jane Dalton24 November 2025 23:59Ukraine looking for compromises that will 'strengthen not weaken' it, says Zelensky
President Volodymyr Zelensky has outlined his expectations for Ukraine as negotiations appear to advance ahead of EU talks on a peace deal with Russia on Monday.
“We all continue working with partners, especially the United States, to look for compromises that will strengthen but not weaken us,” he said.
He added that the use of frozen Russian assets was crucial to talks and accountability was necessary.
“Right now, we are at a critical moment,” he said.
“There is a lot of noise in the media, and all the political pressure, and even greater responsibility for the decisions ahead.”
(AFP/Getty)Maira Butt24 November 2025 23:00Trump’s Ukraine peace plan will make it a ‘juicy target’
Ukraine will be reduced to Russia’s “tethered goat” if a peace plan proposed by US President Donald Trump is implemented, according to the former head of MI6.
Sir Alex Younger said the US president’s proposal was "lopsided" in favour of Russia and would "almost guarantee" another invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin.
The 28-point proposal would see Kyiv give up land while compensating the US for upholding peace. It would also see a formal end to Ukraine’s ambitions to join Nato and the European Union.
US peace plan will make Ukraine a ‘juicy target’ for new invasion, says ex-MI6 chief
Zelensky said compromises should ‘strengthen not weaken’ UkraineTom Ambrose24 November 2025 21:55Draft includes correct points but I need to talk to Trump, says Zelensky
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky says a proposed peace plan under discussion with the United States and Europe has incorporated "correct" points, but sensitive issues were to be discussed with US president Donald Trump.
"As of now, after (talks in) Geneva, there are fewer points, no longer 28, and many correct elements have been incorporated into this framework," President Zelensky said in his nightly video address.
"Our team has already reported today on the new draft of steps and this is truly the right approach. The sensitive issues, the most delicate points, I will discuss with President Trump."
(AP)Jane Dalton24 November 2025 21:07'Only a couple of points of dispute' after US and Kyiv talks
The United States and Ukraine have had productive talks on a potential deal to end Russia's war in the country, the White House Press Secretary says, adding that there remained just "a couple of points of disagreement".
US President Donald Trump is optimistic a deal can be struck to end the war, said Karoline Leavitt.
Jane Dalton24 November 2025 21:02UK PM Starmer says more work needed for 'just and lasting peace' in Ukraine
British prime minister Keir Starmer said on Monday there was more work to do to establish a "just and lasting peace" in Ukraine, but progress was being made.
Starmer said a group of countries supporting Ukraine, known as the coalition of the willing, would discuss the progress being during a virtual meeting on Tuesday.
"Everybody is absolutely focused on what we need to get out of this, and that is a just and lasting peace," Starmer told broadcasters.
He added that matters for Ukraine should be determined by Ukraine.
"So progress, yes, more work to do," Starmer said.
Tom Ambrose24 November 2025 19:40Newer1 / 7OlderMore about
UkraineRussiaKremlinDonald TrumpUSMoscowWashingtonVladimir PutinJoin our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments