Ukraine peace deal proposals could be finalised within days, Zelensky says in biggest sign yet of possible breakthrough
Volodymyr Zelensky says peace deal proposals that may end the nearly-four-year invasion of Ukraine could be finalised in the coming days.
The Ukrainian leader said late on Monday night that a draft peace plan discussed with American officials during talks in Berlin earlier in the day is 'very workable.'
If these plans are finalised, then they will be presented to the Kremlin before further possible meetings in the US next weekend.
The US on Monday said that there's consensus from Ukraine and Europe on about 90% of the peace plan, while Donald Trump added: 'I think we're closer now than we have been, ever' to a peace settlement.
But Zelensky warned that key issues, including the fate of Ukrainian territory captured by Vladimir Putin's invading forces, are yet to be resolved.
He reiterated that Kyiv rules out recognising Moscow's control over any part of the Donbas, an economically important region in eastern Ukraine made up of Luhansk and Donetsk, neither of which Russia's army fully controls.
'The Americans are trying to find a compromise,' Zelensky said, before visiting the Netherlands on Tuesday. 'They are proposing a "free economic zone" [in the Donbas region]. And I want to stress once again: a "free economic zone" does not mean under the control of the Russian Federation.'
The land issue remains one of the most difficult obstacles to a comprehensive agreement.
Volodymyr Zelensky (pictured) says peace deal proposals that may end the nearly-four-year invasion of Ukraine could be finalised in the coming days
Putin wants all the areas in four key regions that his forces have seized, as well as the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014, to be recognised as Russian territory.
Zelensky warned that if Putin rejects diplomatic efforts, Ukraine expects increased Western pressure on Moscow, including tougher sanctions and additional military support for defence. Kyiv would seek enhanced air defence systems and long-range weapons if diplomacy collapses, he said.
Ukraine and the US are preparing up to five documents related to the peace framework, several of them focused on security, Zelenskyy said.
He was upbeat about the progress in the Berlin talks.
'Overall, there was a demonstration of unity,' Zelensky said. 'It was truly positive in the sense that it reflected the unity of the US, Europe, and Ukraine'.
Though the West appears to have coalesced around this deal, Moscow is unlikely to be happy at the proposals.
So far, Putin has not said anything about the Berlin talks.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov repeated Tuesday that Russia wants a comprehensive peace deal, not a temporary truce.
If Ukraine seeks 'momentary, unsustainable solutions, we are unlikely to be ready to participate,' Peskov said.
Firefighters work at the site of a warehouse of home appliances which was hit during an overnight Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine December 16, 2025
A burned and unusable car is seen as firefighters continue to extinguish the fire that broke out in a house following the Russian drone attacks on Dnipropetrovsk region of Ukraine on December 13, 2025
'We want peace - we don't want a truce that would give Ukraine a respite and prepare for the continuation of the war,' he told reporters.
'We want to stop this war, achieve our goals, secure our interests, and guarantee peace in Europe for the future.'
UK defence secretary John Healey told allied counterparts that the Ukraine war is at a 'major moment' following the apparent breakthrough in talks on security guarantees, but that pressure on Vladimir Putin must be kept up.
'We are at a major moment in this war. The US-led push for peace is advancing, and yesterday in Berlin there were signals of a progress in the peace talks which is further advanced than at any time during this war,' he said as he chaired a virtual meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG) alongside German defence minister Boris Pistorius.
Healey said he is directing funding to prepare UK troops to be 'ready to deploy when peace comes with troops on the ground and jets in the air' as countries in the coalition of the willing raise their readiness levels.
But at the same time, the Russian president continues drone and missile attacks on Ukraine, he said.
'We must step up our support still further, to put pressure on Putin to do a deal, but also to protect the Ukrainians during the winter months.'
Firefighters work at the site of a Russian missile and drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine December 13, 2025
A handout photo made available by the State Emergency Service shows Ukrainian rescuers working at the site where a drone hit a nine-storey building in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, overnight 16 December 2025
The UK is investing £600 million to provide Ukraine with air defence systems, missiles and automated turrets to shoot down drones.
He added: 'And our mission is clear cut: support the fight today, secure the peace tomorrow.
'And if Putin chooses to continue this war into next year, our message to Moscow is clear, the UDCG will only grow stronger, more united and get even more kit into the hands of Ukrainian fighters during 2026.'
