Europeans push back on US plan during Geneva talks – DW – 11/24/2025

South African police are investigating allegations that a daughter of former president Jacob Zuma helped recruit men to fight in Ukraine.

Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, who is also a Parliamentarian for her father’s MK party, was named in an affidavit filed by her stepsister. 

The document claims she and two others recruited a group of South Africans under false pretenses. 

The men have asked the South African government to help them get home from Ukraine’s Donbas region.

You can read the full story here. 

The White House said talks on a plan to end Russia’s war in Ukraine were “highly productive.”

US and Ukrainian negotiators meeting in Switzerland agreed that any future agreement must fully respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and deliver a just, lasting peace, according to a statement on the White House website.

Both sides drafted an updated “peace framework.” 

The statement provided few details but said the US and Ukraine agreed to do “intensive work on joint proposals in the coming days.”

“Both sides reiterated their readiness to continue working together to secure a peace that ensures Ukraine’s security, stability, and reconstruction.”

Presidents Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy will make the final decision on any agreement. 

“They will also remain in close contact with their European partners as the process advances,” the statement said.

Officials say a Russian drone strike on Kharkiv has killed four people and wounded at least seventeen.

The attack hit Ukraine’s second-largest city on Sunday evening.

Mayor Igor Terekhov called the strike “massive” in a message on Telegram.

Kharkiv lies just 30 Kilometers (18 miles) from the Russian border and has been a frequent target since Moscow’s failed attempt to seize it early in the war.

Further south, in the Dnipropetrovsk region, two people were killed in a separate strike on the town of Marhanets.

The former foreign minister of Lithuania told DW on Sunday that Europe’s security is at stake amid the talks in Geneva and that the continent needs to stand up for itself in the face of the US’ tacit support for Russia.

When asked whether Europe could stand up for Ukraine without the United States, Gabrielius Landsbergis suggested there is “no other way.”

“If the United States chooses not to stand with us, we have to be ready to stand on our own,” he added.

Under discussion in Geneva is Donald Trump’s 28-point peace plan, which Landsbergis described as a “horrible” proposal.

“It is reminiscent of pacts after the Second World War that that divided Europe among the great great powers that draw the artificial new lines that left free countries and free people at the mercy of the dictators.”

“Czechoslovakia was forced to give away its land because people thought that giving away part of territory will bring peace.”

“Putin believes that he’s in a good momentum. He believes that he has United States closer to their position,” Landsbergis concluded.

The German chancellor told DW’s Chief Political Editor Michaela Küfner that Europe cannot support elements of a contentious US plan on Ukraine. He also warned that a Thursday deadline set by Donald Trump is not realistic.

Read more of DW’s exclusive interview with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz here.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to the White House could take place next week, but only if Sunday’s talks in Geneva show progress, a source familiar with the matter told DW News US-based correspondent Misha Komadovsky.

A reminder: two days ago we reported that Ukraine is seeking a White House meeting next week between President Trump and President Zelenskyy.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that it was good that Kyiv was engaged in conversations with US representatives and noted there were “signals” that President Donald Trump’s team “is hearing us.”

“Today, talks are continuing in Switzerland. The teams will work practically into the night and there will be further reports,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address.

Zelenskyy said earlier on Sunday that Ukraine is “grateful to the United States, and personally to President Trump, for the assistance that has been saving Ukrainian lives.”

The Ukrainian president made the remarks after Trump said Ukraine’s leaders had expressed “zero gratitude” for US assistance.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said officials in Geneva had made “a tremendous amount of progress” in negotiations on the US peace plan for the war in Ukraine.

US, Ukrainian and European delegations have been discussing revisions to Donald Trump’s proposal, which has raised concerns among many of Washington and Kyiv’s allies that the plan is too conciliatory to Moscow.

“We’ve really moved forward, so I feel very optimistic that we’re going to get there in a very reasonable period of time, very soon,” Rubio told reporters on Sunday night, without offering specifics.

Rubio did note, however, that any outcome from the talks in Geneva would have to be presented to Moscow as “obviously, the Russians get a vote here.”

The US’ top diplomat also said the talks would continue on Monday, and perhaps beyond.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday’s meeting between US and European officials in Geneva has been the “best so far in this entire process, going back to when we first came to office in January.” 

Rubio said changes would be made to Donald Trump’s peace plan, to work towards a solution that both Ukraine and the United States were comfortable with.

“Obviously this will ultimately have to be signed off with our presidents, although I feel very comfortable about that happening given the progress we’ve made,” Rubio, who arrived in Geneva with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, told reporters.

Andriy Yermak, who is leading Ukraine’s delegation, hailed the “very good progress” made in the talks.

“We are moving forward to the just and lasting peace Ukrainian people deserve,” Yermak said.

Ukraine and its European allies have submitted a revised version of the United States’ peace plan for Ukraine.

The revisions challenge proposed limits on Kyiv’s armed forces and territorial concessions, according to a document seen by the Reuters news agency.

The counter-proposal, prepared for talks in Geneva, would allow Ukraine to field up to 800,000 troops in peacetime, instead of the blanket cap of 600,000 suggested in the original US plan.

The European draft says Ukraine would commit not to recover occupied territory by military means, with negotiations on territorial arrangements beginning from the existing line of contact.

The document says that Ukraine’s potential NATO membership depends on full consensus among alliance members, which it says does not currently exist.

It also states that NATO would not permanently station troops under its command in Ukraine during peacetime.

Under the proposal, Ukraine would receive a US security guarantee that mirrors NATO’s Article 5, which stipulates that an against one member of the alliance is considered an attack against all of them.

It also calls for Ukraine to be financially compensated, including through frozen Russian sovereign assets that would remain blocked until Russia compensates Ukraine for war damage.

It also says Ukraine should hold national elections as soon as possible after a peace agreement is signed.

Ukraine’s chief negotiator has said the latest US draft plan aimed at ending the war now incorporates most of Kyiv’s main demands, following several rounds of talks in Geneva.

“The current version of the document, although still in the final stages of approval, already reflects most of Ukraine’s key priorities,” said negotiator Rustem Umerov.

“We look forward to further progress throughout the day,” he added.

Ukraine’s European allies have pushed back on a the US-backed plan that required Kyiv to give up large swathes of territory to Russia and limit the size of its military, as well as other measures.

In response, Zelensky had said “alternatives” would be presented to the US during the talks.

US President Donald Trump has said Ukraine has not shown gratitude for Washington’s support in its war against Russia.

In a post on his Truth Social network, Trump wrote that “UKRAINE “LEADERSHIP” HAS EXPRESSED ZERO GRATITUDE FOR OUR EFFORTS, AND EUROPE CONTINUES TO BUY OIL FROM RUSSIA. THE USA CONTINUES TO SELL MASSIVE $AMOUNTS OF WEAPONS TO NATO, FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UKRAINE.”

Trump also criticized his predecessor Joe Biden for sending weapons and money to Ukraine for free.

He repeated the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen and said the war would not have happened under what he described as strong US and Ukrainian leadership.

Trump’s comments came as US, Ukrainian and European officials were meeting in Geneva to discuss a Washington-backed draft plan aimed at ending the conflict.

Under an EU exemption, only Hungary and Slovakia remain significant direct importers of Russian crude oil within the bloc. 

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met Trump earlier this month at the White House, where he obtained a one-year exemption from US sanctions on Russian oil and gas.

The Polish government has launched a nationwide program offering weekend military training for civilians. DW reporter Tessa Walther traveled to Warsaw to see what the training looks like.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has expressed a degree of skepticism that agreement will be reached on US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Ukraine, before the Thursday deadline.

“Today is Sunday. President Trump’s plan is to reach an agreement on Thursday. We are still very far from that,” Merz said on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Johannesburg

“That doesn’t mean it’s completely impossible to reach… But I’m skeptical whether such an outcome is possible given the current differences,” the German leader said.

Ukrainian, US and European officials are meeting in Geneva on Sunday to discuss the draft US plan to bring an end to fighting in Ukraine.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he hopes “there will be a result” as Ukrainian, US and European delegations meet in Geneva for talks on a US-proposed peace plan.

“The bloodshed must be stopped, and we must ensure that the war is never reignited. I am awaiting the results of today’s talks and hope that all participants will be constructive,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.

“We all need a positive outcome,” he added.