Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky reveals new Kyiv-US peace deal as Trump envoys begin Putin talks

President Donald Trump has claimed that “big progress” is being made in negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine as his special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived for talks with Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

It includes respect for Ukraine’s territorial integrity, freedom to advance its Nato ambitions and EU membership aspirations and maintain a large military to deter the threat of future Russian aggression.

Several countries and high-profile individuals are involved in the discussions, which have resulted in public disagreements. The Independent looks at some of the key characters below.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday he had some optimism around peace efforts due to the speed of the process and the United States’ interest in finding a solution.

“A little bit optimism was in my words because of some speed of negotiations, and from the American side, their interest in it.

“It showed that America is not withdrawing now from any kind of diplomatic way of dialogue and it is good,” Mr Zelensky told an event during a visit to Dublin.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced a new and revised 20-point peace deal following discussions between Ukraine and the US.

Ukraine’s foreign minister said on Tuesday that recent comments by Russian president Vladimir Putin show Russia is threatening freedom of navigation in the Black Sea and is not ready to end its war on Ukraine.

“For the second day in a row, Putin makes statements that demonstrate that he does not plan to end the war,” Andrii Sybiha wrote on X.

“Yesterday he said he was prepared to fight through the winter. Today, he threatens sea ports and freedom of navigation.”

Russian president Vladimir Putin has met with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in the Kremlin on Tuesday, photographs released by the Russian media showed.

Putin aide Yuri Ushakov and envoy Kirill Dmitriev were also at the meeting, the photographs showed. Interpreters were also present.

Vladimir Putin on Tuesday claimed full control over the key Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk – though the claim was instantly denied by Kyiv.

For months, Russian and Ukrainian forces have fought house-to-house for the so-called fortress city in eastern Ukraine, once a vital logistics hub for the Ukrainian army, now a ruin separating the Russians from what remains of free Donetsk.

Victory would hand leverage to Putin at a critical time in the war, as a delegation of senior officials from Washington arrives in Moscow to talk through the narrowing paths to peace.

Nato is considering “pre-emptive” action against Russia following a string of hybrid attacks on Europe, a senior official in the alliance has warned.

Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, an Italian who serves as chair of the Nato Military Committee, said the alliance may need to adopt a more “aggressive” approach to deter Moscow from continuing its campaign of drone incursions and cyber attacks in Europe.

A recent Financial Times investigation revealed how Nato has been put on high alert after three vessels in the Baltic Sea were accused of dragging their anchors in a bid to damage energy and communication cables, with a total of 11 incidents recorded.

Other incidents include frequent cyber attacks on European countries and incursions of Russian drones into Nato airspace.

Read our full story below.

President Vladimir Putin has said Russia is ready to fight a war with Europe if it is provoked in his latest threat against the West.

The Russian leader said that he did not want a war with European powers but if they did, Russia was ready right now to fight.

He accused Europe of making demands on a possible peace settlement for Ukraine, which Russia finds absolutely unacceptable.

The comments come at the plenary session of the VTB Russia Calling Investment forum in Moscow on Tuesday.

Mark Rutte, Nato’s secretary general, said that he expected allies to make new contributions to the Prioritised Requirements List (PURL) program.

He added that he was confident that US-brokered talks to end the war would “restore peace in Europe”.