Extract from ABC News
Russia is conducting near nightly drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities as it makes territorial gains in the country's east. (Reuters: Gleb Garanich)
A new US proposal to end the war between Russia and Ukraine is already causing intense discussion between allies.
Details of the new plan have only become public this week, and analysts say it reflects many of Moscow's key demands.
Ukraine says it is ready to "work" on the draft proposal it has received to end the war, while European allies have warned that "peace cannot be capitulation".
Here's what is in the plan, and why it may cause some concern in Kyiv.
What is the American peace proposal?
The White House says US President Donald Trump has "grown increasingly frustrated with both sides of this war, Russia and Ukraine alike, for their refusal to commit to a peace agreement".
So US peace envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have been "working on a plan quietly for about the past month", press secretary Karoline Leavitt says.
Ms Leavitt would not confirm details, describing the plan as "ongoing and in flux". But numerous news organisations have reported that it includes Ukraine making territorial concessions in its east.
Ukrainians are facing relentless Russians strikes and rolling blackouts as they head into their fourth winter of the war. (Reuters: Andriy Bodak)
It also would require Ukraine to commit to reducing the size of its military, a move that would leave it more vulnerable to another invasion.
At a briefing on Thursday, local time, Ms Leavitt pushed back on a reporter's suggestion the plan demanded major concessions from Ukraine but little from Russia.
"We are hearing out both sides of this war to understand what can you commit to to end the war, and that's ultimately how we are going to get to an agreeable solution."
Russia's invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, and since then the Kremlin has made it clear it would only accept a peace plan if it could gain control of four regions in eastern Ukraine.
How has this plan been received in Moscow?
Publicly at least, Russia has appeared nonchalant, with the Kremlin playing down the prospects of an imminent agreement.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov says "consultations are not underway", adding that any peace plan would need to deal with what he labelled the "root causes of the conflict".
"There are contacts, of course, but there is no process that could be called consultations," he says.
The US plan is the latest in a string of attempts by the Trump administration to broker a peace between Kyiv and Moscow, all of which have so far failed.
How have Ukraine and Europe responded?
The office of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says it has received the draft peace plan but did not disclose details of what was being proposed.
The Ukrainian leader will discuss the "key points required to achieve peace" in a call with Mr Trump.
"We are ready now, as before, to work constructively with the American side, as well as with our partners in Europe and around the world so that the outcome is peace," a statement published on Telegram says.
Meanwhile, multiple representatives from NATO allies in Europe, while careful not to directly criticise the proposal, are pushing back by calling for any peace negotiation to include Ukraine.
European Commission Vice-President Kaja Kallas says Europe and Ukraine cannot be left out of the peace process. (Reuters: Christian Mang)
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul says that "all negotiations about a ceasefire, regarding the further peaceful development of Ukraine, can only be discussed and negotiated with Ukraine. And Europe will have to be included".
"For any plan to work, it needs Ukrainians and Europeans on board," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas says.
"Ukrainians want peace — a just peace that respects everyone's sovereignty, a durable peace that can't be called into question by future aggression," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot says, seemingly referring to reports the plan demanded Ukraine limit the size of its military.
"But peace cannot be a capitulation."
Why is this plan is uncomfortable for Kyiv?
The floating of these plans comes at a difficult time for the Ukrainian government, as the war enters its fourth year.
Global affairs analyst Michael Bociurkiw told ABC's The World that things are looking "very, very bad for Ukraine right now".
The floated US proposal is likely to heap more pressure on Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right. (Reuters: Alexander Drago)
He says if reports are to be believed, "the Americans feel like they have Ukraine in a corner" as its frontline struggles continue and Mr Zelenskyy grapples with a widening corruption scandal.
"They [the US] seem to be going for the max, but on Russia's terms, including restraining the size of the Ukrainian army, probably insisting Ukraine doesn't join NATO and very, very importantly, the territory that Russia has seized, they are going to hold on to it."
What is expected to happen next?
A US Army delegation, led by Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and the Army's Chief of Staff Randy George, has travelled to Kyiv.
Ms Leavitt has confirmed they met with Mr Zelenskyy on Thursday. Mr Driscoll is "very optimistic following that meeting", she says.
The delegation has also met Ukraine's top military commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, who says he told them the best way to secure a just peace was to defend Ukraine's airspace, extend its ability to strike deep into Russia and stabilise the front line.
A fourth winter of wartime is looming for Ukraine's population, which has been bearing the brunt of relentless Russian attacks on infrastructure, energy and residential neighbourhoods.
Strikes are causing frequent blackouts and heating outages at a time when temperatures in Ukraine are plummeting. Strikes on Thursday left more than 400,000 consumers without power.
Authorities say 22 people are still missing and 26 dead from air strikes that destroyed an apartment block in western Ukraine on Wednesday, marking one of Russia's worst attacks in months.
ABC/Reuters/AP
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