European foreign ministers abruptly postponed talks in London to discuss a US plan for peace in Ukraine.
It came as an apparent response to the sudden withdrawal of Marco Rubio, US secretary of state, and Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump’s special envoy, from the discussions last night.
The ministers were set to discuss a seven-point plan that would see Crimea formally recognised as part of Russia and leave Ukraine with no clear US security guarantee.
A meeting of lower-level officials will instead take place, the Government announced this morning. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s envoy for Ukraine, will represent the US.
Mr Rubio said he would reschedule the London discussions for the coming months, while Mr Witkoff is expected in Moscow later this week for more talks with Vladimir Putin.
The chances of a breakthrough in London had appeared slim after Volodymyr Zelensky rejected a central part of the US-proposed peace deal.
He said on Tuesday that he was open to talks with Russia if the fighting stopped, but would not accept any deal that recognises Russia’s occupation of Crimea.
In response to the postponement, Andriy Yermak, Ukraine’s presidential chief of staff who has arrived in London, said the path to peace “is not easy” but that Ukraine remains committed to efforts to ending the three-year war.
The downgrading of the talks comes despite warnings by Donald Trump that Washington will walk away if there was no progress on a deal soon. The US president said he hoped a deal would be brokered this week.
The Kremlin said there were “many nuances” around talks to end the conflict in Ukraine and that the positions of different sides involved in the talks had yet to be narrowed.
Its comments came after talks between the US, Ukraine and European officials faltered at the last-minute on Wednesday after Marco Rubio, US secretary of state, abruptly cancelled his trip to London and negotiations were downgraded.
Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said Russia was continuing dialogue on a possible settlement with Washington, but was not in contact with Europe or Ukraine.
He stressed that Russia remains opposed to any European peacekeeping troops in Ukraine following a ceasefire.
Russia has lost 1, 210 soldiers killed and wounded as well as 400 weapons and pieces of military equipment over the past day, according to Ukraine’s military command.
In its daily update, the general staff reported that Moscow’s forces lost eight tanks, 11 armoured vehicles, 85 artillery systems, 138 aerial drones and 163 vehicles and fuel tankers over the past 24 hours.
Marco Rubio, US secretary of state, and Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump’s special envoy, have pulled out of talks in London to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.
Mr Rubio had been expected to take part in the high-level discussions with Ukrainian and European officials, but Washington confirmed that he would no longer attend because of “logistical issues”.
In an apparent response, foreign ministers from the UK, France, Germany and Ukraine have withdrawn from today’s talks. The discussions will instead take place between five senior officials from the five nations.
The downgrading in the level of diplomacy is in contrast to Washington’s intensified efforts to secure a ceasefire. Mr Rubio warned last week that Washington would abandon talks unless there is progress within days.
The talks follow a meeting in Paris last week in which US, UK, German and French officials discussed the US framework for a ceasefire.
Mr Trump’s controversial plan includes a freeze of the current front line, reduced sanctions on Moscow, and US recognition of Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea, reversing a decade of US policy.
Ukraine will hold talks in London on Wednesday about ways to achieve a “full and unconditional ceasefire” as a first step towards peace, Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, said on Wednesday.
Mr Yermak has arrived in London with Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine’s foreign minister, and Rustem Umerov, the defence minister.
He added that the path to peace “is not easy” but stressed that Ukraine remains committed to efforts to ending the three-year war.
His statements come after the foreign ministers of the US, Britain, France and Germany withdrew from the talks, which have been downgraded to lower-level officials.
Should it be a surprise that the Americans have opted against sending their two heavy-hitters given that neither the Brits nor Ukrainians were confident of a breakthrough in London on Wednesday?
Probably not.
For the Ukrainians, they insist they still haven’t seen the full and final peace plan (as reported by The Telegraph), and as it stands that is neither acceptable to Kyiv or Moscow.
The Britons knew this, and were said to be annoyed at the way Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, appeared to pressure Ukrainian officials to accept a deal after a recent round of talks.
European diplomacy on a Ukrainian peace plan can only move as fast as the Americans are able to move, and the downgrading of the latest meeting in London puts on full display the difficulties faced by Donald Trump to get Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table alongside Volodymyr Zelensky.
The Trump administration has been attempting to dismantle initiatives aimed at investigating alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine.
Since his inauguration, Donald Trump has moved to withdraw the US from an international group led by the European Union created to hold Moscow to account for violating international law in its invasion of Ukraine.
The White House has also reduced the work of the Justice Department’s War Crimes Accountability team and deconstructed a programme to seize the asserts of sanctioned Russian oligarchs.
The administration has also vacated a coordinator position to gather intelligence on Russian atrocities committed in Ukraine, two people familiar with the matter told the Washington Post.
“The atrocities coordinator position is … tasked with holding Putin responsible for the crimes he’s committed against the Ukrainian people,” Jason Crow, a Democrat representative for Colorado who created the position alongside Mike Waltz, told the outlet.
“This position was created by Congress on a bipartisan basis, and the administration must empower whoever serves in this position to carry out their duties as required by law.”
Russia launched 134 drones in overnight attacks targeting Ukraine, Ukraine’s air force said on Wednesday.
Air defence units shot down 67 drones, and another 47 drones were redirected by electronic warfare, the air force said.
The attacks caused damage in six Ukrainian regions, it added
Donald Trump has put forward a seven-point peace plan to end the war in Ukraine.
Today in London, the US delegation, led by Keith Kellogg, will hear Kyiv’s reaction.
See 7.35am post for more details.
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Ukraine-Russia war latest: Foreign ministers postpone UK peace talks – The Telegraph
