On a late Thursday night, Russian guided bombs fell on Zaporizhzhia, a city in south-eastern Ukraine, killing five people and wounding three while the sky above it glowed with fire. The same day, in a quieter room far from the rubble, a draft peace plan drawn up by American and Russian officials reached Volodymyr Zelenskyy, asking Ukraine to surrender Donbas and Crimea, forswear NATO, and shrink its army. Here the old story of a small nation negotiating under the shadow of a larger one returns in a new form, with the bargaining table set and the cost of failure still being counted in streets a
Russian strike on Zaporizhzhia kills five as Zelenskyy weighs US-backed peace plan seen as favouring Kremlin
Five people were killed and three injured in a late-Thursday Russian air attack on Zaporizhzhia.
Five dead in Zaporizhzhia as a peace plan lands on Zelenskyy's desk
Mark
Zelenskyy didn't reject the plan outright. Why not?
Mimi
His office framed it as engaging with diplomatic opportunities. He said Ukraine wants peace and doesn't want anyone able to say it upended diplomacy. That's a careful position, given that some of his own officials called the plan absurd.
Luke
Worth noting that we only know the terms from a copy seen by news agencies. It's a draft, and we don't know whether it's the current version or what Kyiv will ask to change.
Mark
What are the hardest terms for Ukraine?
Mimi
Giving up the Donbas and Crimea, recognised as de facto Russian even by the US, is the biggest. The 600,000 troop cap and the permanent bar on Nato membership follow.
Luke
And the offsets, such as security guarantees and EU eligibility, are described only in general terms. 'Reliable' isn't defined in what we've seen.
Mark
How does Europe fit in?
Mimi
Kaja Kallas said Ukrainians and Europeans both have to agree for it to be lasting. That's a direct challenge to a plan drafted by US and Russian officials.
Luke
That's a statement of position, not a veto. We haven't seen what leverage Europe will use.
Mark
And the battlefield claims?
Mimi
Russia says Kupiansk is taken, and Ukraine says it isn't. Same with Pokrovsk and Vovchansk.
Luke
Right, so those are competing claims. Nothing in this reporting settles them, and we shouldn't treat either side's version as fact yet.
Le Pouls
- Guided bombs struck Zaporizhzhia late Thursday, leaving five dead, three wounded, and streets buried in rubble and smoke.
- A draft US-Russia peace plan would cede Donbas and Crimea, bar NATO membership for Ukraine, and cap its army at 600,000.
- Kyiv officials have called the terms unacceptable, while Zelenskyy speaks cautiously and prepares to confer with Trump in the coming days.
- European leaders, led by Kaja Kallas, insist they must share the table, arguing that any settlement needs both Ukrainian and European consent.
- On the front, Moscow claims Kupiansk and large parts of Pokrovsk, while Ukraine denies it, and the outcome of the call with Trump remains unresolved.
On a late Thursday night, Russian guided bombs fell on Zaporizhzhia, a city in south-eastern Ukraine, killing five people and wounding three while the sky above it glowed with fire. The same day, in a quieter room far from the rubble, a draft peace plan drawn up by American and Russian officials reached Volodymyr Zelenskyy, asking Ukraine to surrender Donbas and Crimea, forswear NATO, and shrink its army. Here the old story of a small nation negotiating under the shadow of a larger one returns in a new form, with the bargaining table set and the cost of failure still being counted in streets and lives. What happens next depends on whether a call between two leaders, and the objections of Europe, can reshape terms that the battlefield has not yet settled.
Late on Thursday, Russian guided bombs struck Zaporizhzhia, the south-eastern Ukrainian city. The regional governor, Ivan Fedorov, reported five people killed and three injured, and his photographs showed buildings in flames and streets choked with rubble. He had warned earlier in the day that such an attack was coming.
The same day, Zelenskyy's office confirmed it had received a draft peace plan prepared by American and Russian officials. He said he would speak with Donald Trump in the coming days. In his nightly address he said Ukraine needs peace and would do everything so that no one could accuse it of upending diplomacy. His tone was cautious, while some officials in Kyiv denounced the plan as absurd.
The terms explain the anger. Ukraine would give up Donbas and Crimea, which would be recognised as Russian, the United States included. It would never join NATO, and the alliance would keep troops off its soil. Its army would be capped at 600,000. In return came promises of security guarantees and a path to EU membership, while Russia would return to the G8 and see sanctions eased.
European diplomats insisted on a seat at the table. Kaja Kallas said a lasting settlement must be agreed by Ukrainians and Europeans alike, and that Putin could end the war at once by halting the bombing of civilians.
On the battlefield the accounts clashed. Valery Gerasimov told Putin that Kupiansk had fallen, but Ukraine denied it, and Kyiv also rejected claims about Pokrovsk and Vovchansk. Gerasimov said the fiercest fighting was near Pokrovsk. Elsewhere, Britain's National Crime Agency revealed a laundering network that had bought a Kyrgyz bank to help evade sanctions. The next moves rest on the Zelenskyy-Trump call and on whether European objections alter the draft.
Late on Thursday, Russian guided bombs struck the south-eastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia. Five people were killed and three were injured, according to the regional governor, Ivan Fedorov. He posted photographs online that showed buildings engulfed in flames and streets covered in rubble. Fedorov had already warned earlier in the day that an attack by Russian guided bombs was imminent.
The strike came as Volodymyr Zelenskyy faced a diplomatic decision of a different kind. His office confirmed on Thursday that he had received a draft peace plan prepared by US and Russian officials, and that he would speak to Donald Trump in the coming days about what it called the existing diplomatic opportunities and the main points necessary for peace. In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy said Ukraine needs peace and will do everything so that no one in the world can say it is upending diplomacy.
His tone was cautious, and it contrasted with the reaction of some Ukrainian officials, who denounced the plan as absurd and unacceptable. The reason is in the terms. According to a copy seen by news agencies, Ukraine would give up the Luhansk and Donetsk provinces, which together make up the Donbas, along with Crimea. All of it would be recognised as de facto Russian, including by the United States.
The draft goes further. Ukraine would never join Nato, and the alliance would agree not to station troops on Ukrainian soil. Ukraine's armed forces would be capped at 600,000 personnel. In return, Ukraine would receive reliable security guarantees and be eligible for EU membership. Russia would be invited to rejoin the G8 and be reintegrated into the global economy, with a view to lifting sanctions, and it would be expected not to invade neighbouring countries.
European diplomats responded by insisting they must have a seat at the table. Kaja Kallas, the EU's foreign policy chief, said she welcomed any meaningful efforts to end the war but that a settlement had to be just and lasting, which meant Ukrainians and Europeans both had to agree to it. She said Vladimir Putin could end the war immediately by ceasing to bomb civilians, and noted that no concessions had come from the Russian side.
On the battlefield, the claims diverged. Russia's chief of general staff, Valery Gerasimov, told Putin on Thursday that Russian forces had taken control of Kupiansk in the north-east. Ukraine's military denied the city had changed hands. Kyiv also dismissed Russian statements that its forces had taken large parts of Pokrovsk, a key logistics hub Russia has been trying to capture for months, and of Vovchansk, near the Russian border. The Kremlin said Putin visited the command post of the Russian forces' west grouping to meet Gerasimov and senior commanders. In a video posted on the Kremlin site, Gerasimov said the heaviest fighting along the 1,200km frontline was near Pokrovsk, where Ukrainian forces were offering stiff resistance.
Separately, Britain's National Crime Agency said a billion-dollar money laundering network operating across Britain had bought a controlling stake in a Kyrgyzstani bank to help evade sanctions and support Russia's war. The disclosure was part of an update to Operation Destabilise, an international investigation into Russian laundering networks. The agency said these networks convert cash from street crime into cryptocurrency and link the local drugs trade to organised and state-sponsored crime. The NCA and partners in countries including the US, France, Spain and Ireland have arrested 128 people.
What comes next is the call between Zelenskyy and Trump, expected in the coming days, and whether European objections change the draft. The Kupiansk and Pokrovsk claims also remain unconfirmed.
Citations marquantes
Ukraine needs peace and Ukraine will do everything so that no one in the world can say we are upending diplomacy.— Volodymyr Zelenskyy, nightly video address
Any plan has to be just and lasting, which means Ukrainians and Europeans must agree to it.— Kaja Kallas, EU foreign policy chief (paraphrased)
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