Zelenskyy meets with European leaders as peace talks drag on

London: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine is meeting with European leaders in London to discuss peace talks that have languished because of clashing views about how to end his country's nearly 4-year-old war with Russia.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain is hosting Zelenskyy at No 10 Downing St, along with President Emmanuel Macron of France and Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany, for a closed-door discussion. A statement from Macron's office said the leaders planned to discuss ways to help Zelenskyy's military continue its fight against Russia.

"Ukraine is not on the brink of collapse," the statement said. "While we may not be able to immediately reach a peace agreement with Russia, it is essential that we give Ukraine all the support it needs."

The trio of European leaders is also hoping to bolster Zelenskyy's negotiating position in the face of what they view as unacceptable demands by President Vladimir Putin of Russia, including control over all of the eastern Ukrainian region known as the Donbas.

For now, Zelenskyy appears resigned to continued fighting. In a speech Sunday night, he said he would remain engaged in diplomatic efforts but stressed the need to focus Monday's talks in London on efforts to bolster his military.

"First and foremost, security issues, support for our resilience, and support packages for our defense," he said. "First and foremost, air defense and long-term funding for Ukraine. Of course, we will discuss a shared vision and common positions in the negotiations."

Zelenskyy arrived at Starmer's Downing Street office at around 1:15 pm In an interview with Bloomberg News published Monday morning, Zelenskyy said negotiations were far apart on territorial issues.

"There are visions of the US, Russia and Ukraine -- and we don't have a unified view on Donbas," he told the news organization, referencing contested parts of eastern Ukraine.

Late Sunday, President Donald Trump criticized Zelenskyy by claiming that the Ukrainian leader had not yet read the latest version of peace proposals that emerged from hours of talks between US negotiators and Putin last week.

"I have to say that I'm a little bit disappointed that President Zelenskyy hasn't yet read the proposal," Trump told reporters. "His people love it, but he hasn't."

It was not immediately clear which "people" Trump was referring to, but a previous version of a US-pushed peace plan that reflected many of the Kremlin's demands had been broadly rejected in Ukraine.

In parts of Ukraine, the public is focused less on the diplomatic efforts and more on the way the ongoing war is affecting their daily lives.

Most people in Kyiv, the country's capital, have power for only six to nine hours a day, often at inconvenient times, such as 2-5 pm, when they are at work, and then again from 2-5 am They wake up with no power and go to bed with no power.

Mr Trump also told reporters that Russia was "fine" with the latest peace proposals.

"Russia, I guess, would rather have the whole country, when you think of it, but Russia is, I believe, fine with it," Trump said. "But I'm not sure that Zelenskyy is fine with it."

In fact, neither side has embraced the Trump administration's plan. Putin said last week that parts of the US proposal to end the war were not workable. Zelenskyy said in a social media post Saturday that he was "determined to keep working" on reaching a peace deal.

"Our approach is that everything must be workable -- every crucial measure for peace, security, and reconstruction," Zelenskyy wrote.

To achieve those goals, he will be looking to the European leaders, who have in recent weeks expressed frustration about being cut out of negotiations by Trump and his team.

Those diplomatic tensions with Europe were on vivid display last week when the Trump administration unveiled an annual update to the United States' national security strategy that criticized Europe's handling of the conflict in Ukraine.

The Trump administration "finds itself at odds with European officials who hold unrealistic expectations for the war perched in unstable minority governments, many of which trample on basic principles of democracy to suppress opposition," the strategy said.