EditU.S. envoy sees ‘last 10 meters,’ but Trump slams Zelenskyy for delaying proposal review
The Ukrainian president heads to London Monday for talks with French, British, and German leaders on the U.S.-mediated process
As winter grips the war-torn trenches of eastern Ukraine, diplomatic manoeuvres in Washington, Moscow, and Kyiv offer glimmers of hope – and fresh friction – in the quest to end Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War II.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s outgoing special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, declared Saturday that a peace deal is tantalizingly close, hinging on just two pivotal issues: the fate of the Donbas region and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Yet, even as Kellogg painted an optimistic picture of being in “the last 10 meters” – the toughest stretch of any marathon – the Kremlin dismissed U.S. proposals as needing “radical changes,” while Trump himself voiced sharp disappointment in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for failing to review the draft plan.
Speaking at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California, Kellogg, a retired lieutenant general with combat experience in Vietnam, Panama, and Iraq, underscored the human toll driving urgency. “Together, Russia and Ukraine have suffered more than 2 million casualties, including dead and wounded since the war began,” he said, decrying the “horrific” scale unprecedented in modern regional conflicts.
Neither side releases official figures, but independent estimates align with this grim tally. Russia currently occupies 19.2% of Ukraine, including Crimea (annexed in 2014), all of Luhansk, over 80% of Donetsk, and significant portions of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and other border areas.
The envoy pinpointed Donbas – the industrial heartland of Donetsk and Luhansk – as the territorial flashpoint. Moscow claims the entire region, shorthand for its separatist proxies’ ambitions, though Ukraine holds at least 5,000 square kilometres and insists any handover without a referendum would be illegal, potentially enabling future invasions.
Zelenskyy has warned that ceding Donetsk would hand Russia a launchpad for deeper assaults. The second sticking point: Europe’s largest nuclear facility at Zaporizhzhia, seized by Russian forces early in the February 2022 full-scale invasion – now a radiological risk amid shelling and power outages.
“We’re really, really close,” Kellogg insisted. “If we get those two issues settled, I think the rest of the things will work out fairly well.” His optimism follows recent high-level U.S. engagements: Last week, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner held four hours of talks with President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin, where “territorial problems” topped the agenda, per Putin’s foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov.
Yet Moscow’s response was tepid. Ushakov, quoted in Russian media Sunday, demanded Washington make “serious, I would say, radical changes” to its proposals, without specifying – though context points to hardening lines on territory and Ukraine’s NATO aspirations.
Russia says no Ukraine compromise reached after five-hour Putin talks with Trump envoys
A leaked 28-point U.S. draft from last month already alarmed Kyiv and European allies by conceding Russian control over a fifth of Ukraine, NATO membership barriers, and military restrictions – seen as capitulation to Kremlin red lines.
Complicating matters further, Trump escalated rhetoric against Zelenskyy in remarks to reporters Sunday evening before the Kennedy Center Honors.
“I’m a little bit disappointed that President Zelenskyy hasn’t yet read the proposal, that was as of a few hours ago,” the president said, suggesting Kyiv’s leader is stalling progress.
“His people love it, but he hasn’t… Russia is fine with it, but I’m not sure that Zelenskyy is fine with it. He isn’t ready.” The comments followed three days of U.S.-Ukrainian talks in Miami, which wrapped Saturday without breakthroughs on security guarantees or borders, per Ukrainian Ambassador Olga Stefanishyna.
Trump, who styles himself a “peacemaker” and laments the war’s drain on U.S. resources, has repeatedly urged territorial concessions to hasten an end—straining his once-fractious ties with Zelenskyy.
The Ukrainian president, undeterred, described a Saturday phone call with Witkoff and Kushner as “substantive,” emphasizing Ukraine’s commitment to “good faith” negotiations for a “dignified peace.”
“Not everything can be discussed over the phone,” he posted on social media, noting his team’s imminent in-person briefing. He stressed allied unity to pressure Russia, warning of Moscow’s history of broken pledges.
Zelenskyy heads to London Monday for talks with French, British, and German leaders on the U.S.-mediated process, as French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed. The meeting is expected to focus on taking stock of progress in the U.S.-mediated peace negotiations, coordinating European security guarantees for Ukraine, and coordinating pressure on Russia to demonstrate genuine de-escalation commitments amid stalled talks on territorial and nuclear issues.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has accused Putin of “wasting the world’s time,” arguing that he has repeatedly demonstrated “he does not plan to end the war.”
With Reuters, edited by g.g.
Caption: File photo. United States Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia, General Keith Kellogg, looks on during a conversation on the second day of the Warsaw Security Forum at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel in Warsaw, Poland, 30 September 2025. EPA/Marcin Obara
Updated: December 8, 2025 - 07:21
