Putin rejects peace proposal from Europe and rains death on Ukraine in response

Vladimir Putin has rejected Europe’s peace proposal to end the war in Ukraine and instead responded by killing four people in his latest aerial strike.

Russia launched a bombardment in Kharkiv killing at least four after negotiations stalled in Geneva.

The UK, Germany, and France proposed key changes to the White House’s 28-point peace plan, which was compiled with the Kremlin.

These include barring Russia from rejoining the G8, which was first enforced in 2014 after it annexed Crimea, and raising the cap on Ukraine’s army from 600,000 to 800,000.

Ukraine’s deputy foreign minister Sergiy Kyslytsa said ‘very few things are left’ from the original peace plan – and it seems unlikely the new one will be accepted by Putin.

The Kremlin has already described the plan as ‘completely unconstructive’.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky may fly out to Washington DC this week for talks with US president Donald Trump in a bid to end the deadlock.

But the White House confirmed on Monday night that no meeting had been scheduled.

US and Ukrainian officials have also agreed to a 19-point peace plan, which was described as a ‘refined peace framework’.

The discussions in Geneva are being led by US Secretary of State Marc Rubio, with Trump saying ‘something good’ was coming out of the talks.

However, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the US was the only country that wanted Russia to rejoin the G8, placing the meeting at a stalemate.

There are other US proposals which go against Ukraine’s demands, including sacrificing territory and pledging not to join NATO.

President Zelensky told allies in a video call: ‘We all continue working with partners, especially the United States, to look for compromises that will strengthen not weaken us.’

He added Russia must pay for the war and said European countries must agree to use frozen Kremlin assets.

A spokesman for prime minister Keir Starmer said: ‘As the US-Ukraine joint statement makes clear, yesterday’s talks were a major step towards a just and lasting peace for Ukraine.’

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