As Russian missiles appear to have increased in number and lethality, new details of the peace plan for Ukraine devised by United States and Russia behind Kiev and the European Union have come to light. The 28-point plan for Ukraine supported by U.S. President Donald Trump envisions that the European country cedes the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk to Russia.
These two provinces in eastern Ukraine, along with Crimea, annexed by Moscow in 2014, would be "de facto recognized as Russian, even by the United States," according to the project. The White House emphasized that discussions on the plan are ongoing, and it was discreetly worked on by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for a month.
Meanwhile, the death toll in Ukraine continues to rise. Following the deadly attack on Wednesday, where more than 25 people died in the city of Ternopil, a new Russian bombardment, this time over Zaporizhia, left at least five dead and several injured on Thursday night.
Russia Says White House Did Not Inform Them of Trump's New Peace Plan for Ukraine
The Kremlin stated today that the White House has not informed them "officially" about its new peace plan for Ukraine, although it insisted that Moscow remains faithful to what was agreed upon at the summit in Alaska last August, reports Efe.
"Officially, we have not received anything. Furthermore, we have learned about some things from the press, although our contacts (with the U.S.) have not stopped, and we have never interrupted them," said the spokesperson for the Russian Presidency, Dmitry Peskov, in his daily telephone press conference.
Kremlin Claims Around 5,000 Ukrainian Soldiers Are Trapped in the Kharkiv Region
The Kremlin stated on Friday that around 5,000 Ukrainian soldiers were surrounded on the eastern bank of the Oskol River in the eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv, reports Reuters.
Last night, Russia claimed to have taken Kupiansk, a significant city in the region, something that Ukraine denied.
EU Leaders to Discuss U.S. Peace Plan for Ukraine During G20 Summit
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stated on Friday that European Union (EU) leaders will discuss, on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders' Summit in South Africa, the peace plan designed by the U.S. and Russia for Ukraine, although she reiterated that any initiative must involve the participation of Ukrainians, reports Efe.
"A 28-point plan was made public. We will discuss the situation with European leaders as well as with the leaders present here, on the sidelines of the G20," Von der Leyen assured in a press conference alongside the President of the European Council, António Costa, on the eve of the G20 summit taking place this weekend in Johannesburg.
"I will also contact President Volodymyr Zelensky to address this issue. The key principle we have always defended is: nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine," she emphasized.
Zelensky to Speak with Macron, Merz, and Starmer About U.S. Plan for Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will have a call on Friday with his main allies to discuss the U.S. plan to end the war with Russia, said high-ranking government officials in Kiev and London to AFP.
French President Emmanuel Macron, and the German and British Prime Ministers, Friedrich Merz and Keir Starmer, will join the call with Zelensky, scheduled to start around 11:00 GMT.
Norway Views It Unfair for Kiev to Cede Territory to Russia
Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide considered on Friday that it is "unfair" for Ukraine to cede territory to Russia, according to the peace plan designed by the United States and Russia leaked by media outlets such as the American portal Axios, reports Efe.
"A ceasefire must be based on the situation on the ground and not on unacceptable demands from Russia. Peace must be based on international law and respect for Ukraine's territorial integrity. It is unfair to demand that Ukraine cede territory," Eide said in Oslo.
Zelensky's Emissary Denies Modifying Peace Plan to Ensure Immunity
The Ukrainian Presidential envoy in the negotiations to end the war, Rustem Umerov, denied altering the peace plan endorsed by the U.S. to change a supposed point that aimed to punish those who had profited from the war to one that guarantees amnesty to all Russian and Ukrainian actors involved in the conflict.
"The media reports about supposed 'approvals' or 'elimination of points' have nothing to do with reality. They are examples of unverified information that arises out of the context of consultations," Umerov wrote on his Facebook account.
The Ukrainian negotiator and current head of the National Security and Defense Council of his country referred to information appearing in U.S. media outlets such as the 'New York Post' and the 'Wall Street Journal,' according to which he himself had approved part of the plan and introduced the point that provides for a general amnesty that also includes Russians, replacing the section that planned to audit the aid received by Kiev and punish any abuse.
Starmer Says Ukraine Should Determine Its Future
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Friday that Ukraine should determine its future, following reports that the United States has secretly developed a plan with Russia to end the war, reports Efe.
Apparently, according to the media, Washington has pressured Kiev to accept an agreement that suggests Ukraine would be required to cede territory and accept a limit on the size of its Army.
Speaking to the media on the plane that took him to South Africa for the G-20 summit, Starmer said that his position on the conflict "has always focused on a fair and lasting peace."
Orbán Says EU Should Exit the "Dead End" of the Ukraine War
Hungarian Prime Minister, the ultranationalist Viktor Orbán, stated on Friday that the European Union (EU) should backtrack on what he called a "dead end" of the war, referring to the support for Ukraine to defend itself against Russian aggression, reports Efe.
"We must backtrack from the dead end. The real problem is that European (leaders) have decided they want to go to war," Orbán stated in his Friday speech on the public radio Kossuth.
Orbán emphasized that European plans to support Ukraine should be thwarted since, he said, this implies "an armament program that will be very costly."
Russia Launches 115 Drones Against Ukraine
Russia launched a total of 115 drones of various types against Ukraine last night, including around 70 Shahed attack drones, as reported on Friday by the Ukrainian Air Force, which also reported the death of 5 people in the southeastern city of Zaporizhia due to Russian aerial bomb attacks, reports Efe.
Of these, 95 were neutralized by various means by Ukrainian air defenses, and 19 hit 19 different locations in Ukraine.
The unneutralized drones caused damage, according to the Air Force, to civilian and residential infrastructure in the regions of Chernihiv (north), Dnipropetrovsk (central-east), Kharkiv (northeast), and Odesa (south).
Ukraine Denies the Fall of Kupiansk into Russian Hands
The Ukrainian General Staff denied that Russia had completed the capture of the city of Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine, as claimed on Thursday by the Chief of the Russian General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, reports Efe.
"Kupiansk remains under the control of the Ukrainian Defense Forces," stated the Ukrainian General Staff in a statement, explaining that detection and elimination activities against Russian sabotage groups that have entered the municipality continue within the city.
The Kiev General Staff labeled the statements by Gerasimov about the alleged capture of Kupiansk by Russia as "cheap information provocations."