![\"In](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/in-this-photo-provided-by-the-press-service-of-the-president-YK2NUS6AWRBUTKT6ROP3UO32VU.jpg\")
<\/p>\nUkraine\u2019s Western allies rallied around the war-torn country overnight as they pushed to revise a US peace plan seen as favouring Moscow despite its all-out invasion of its neighbour. President Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed that Ukrainians \u201cwill always defend\u201d their home.<\/p>\n
A Ukrainian delegation, bolstered by representatives from France, Germany and the UK, is preparing for direct talks with Washington in Switzerland on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The 28-point blueprint drawn up by the US to end the nearly four-year war sparked alarm in Kyiv and European capitals, with Zelensky saying his country could face a stark choice between standing up for its sovereign rights and preserving the American support it needs.<\/p>\n
The US plan foresees Ukraine handing over territory to Russia, something Kyiv has repeatedly ruled out, while reducing the size of its army and blocking its coveted path to NATO membership. It contains many of Moscow\u2019s long-standing demands, while offering limited security guarantees to Kyiv.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, leaders of the European Union, Canada and Japan issued a joint statement welcoming US peace efforts, but pushed back against key tenets of the plan.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In this photo provided by the Press Service Of The President Of Ukraine on November 21, 2025, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky looks into the camera while delivering a video address to the nation in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are ready to engage in order to ensure that a future peace is sustainable. We are clear on the principle that borders must not be changed by force. We are also concerned by the proposed limitations on Ukraine\u2019s armed forces, which would leave Ukraine vulnerable to future attack,\u201d the statement said. It added that any decisions regarding NATO and the EU would require the consent of member states.<\/p>\n
The leaders of France, Germany and the UK met during the day on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, to discuss ways to support Kyiv, according to a person with knowledge of the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly.<\/p>\n
German chancellor Friedrich Merz told reporters at the summit that \u201cwars cannot be ended by major powers over the heads of the countries affected,\u201d and insisted Kyiv needed robust guarantees.<\/p>\n
![\"Parents](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/parents-natalia-and-anatoliy-cry-at-the-coffin-of-their-son-UTRBOXUGBRG4DJNI7YTAELYWTU.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Parents Natalia and Anatoliy cry at the coffin of their son Ruslan Zhygunov, a Ukrainian serviceman, who was killed at the frontline near Rusyn Yar village, during his funeral ceremony (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n
Merz added that envoys from Germany, France, the UK and the EU will join Ukrainian negotiators as they meet a US delegation in Geneva on Sunday to discuss Washington’s proposal. <\/p>\n
Zelensky confirmed the meeting on Saturday, after President Donald Trump set a deadline for Kyiv to respond to the plan by next Thursday.<\/p>\n
European leaders have long warned against rushing a peace deal, seeing their own future at stake in Ukraine\u2019s fight to beat back Russia, and insist on being consulted in peace efforts.<\/p>\n
\u2018Quite a way from a good outcome\u2019<\/p>\n
Kyiv’s key allies in Europe reiterated their reservations about the Kremlin’s readiness to end the war.<\/p>\n
\u201cTime and again, Russia pretends to be serious about peace, but their actions never live up to their words,\u201d UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters ahead of the G20 summit, days after a Russian strike on western Ukraine killed over two dozen civilians. <\/p>\n
Starmer later added that his national security adviser will be among Western envoys accompanying the Ukrainian delegation in Geneva.<\/p>\n
European leaders have long accused Russia of stalling diplomatic efforts in the hope of overwhelming Ukraine’s much smaller forces on the battlefield. <\/p>\n
Kyiv has repeatedly accepted US ceasefire proposals this year, while Moscow has held out for more favourable terms.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn end to the war can only be achieved with the unconditional consent of Ukraine,\u201d Merz said during G20 summit briefing, adding that he had told Trump in a long phone call on Friday that Europe needed to be a part of any peace process, and that Russia had previously failed to keep its promises to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity.<\/p>\n
“From my perspective, there is currently a chance to end this war,\u201d Merz added. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut we are still quite a way from a good outcome for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that a key principle for Kyiv’s European allies was \u201cnothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n
French President Emmanuel Macron echoed that sentiment in a speech at the G20 summit on Saturday, saying \u201cthere can be no peace in Ukraine without respect for Ukraine\u2019s sovereignty.\u201d He did not mention the US peace plan.<\/p>\n
Zelensky defiant as Ukraine remembers Soviet-era famine<\/p>\n
Zelensky, in a video address published Saturday, said Ukrainian representatives at the Geneva talks \u201cknow how to protect Ukrainian national interests and exactly what is needed to prevent Russia from carrying out\u201d another invasion. <\/p>\n
\u201cReal peace is always based on security and justice,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Nine officials are to take part in the talks, including Zelensky\u2019s chief of staff Andrii Yermak and top envoy Rustem Umerov, according to a statement posted on the Ukrainian presidency\u2019s website, which also stated that the negotiators are empowered to deal directly with Russia.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, Ukraine commemorated the \u201cgreat famine\u201d that Soviet leader Josef Stalin imposed in the early 1930s, which led to millions of deaths.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all know how and why millions of our people died, starved to death, and millions were never born. And we are once again defending ourselves against Russia, which has not changed and is once again bringing death,\u201d Zelensky said in a post on Telegram marking Holodomor Memorial Day.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe defended, defend, and will always defend Ukraine. Because only here is our home. And in our home, Russia will definitely not be the master,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ukraine\u2019s Western allies rallied around the war-torn country overnight as they pushed to revise a US peace plan…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":148875,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,64,1979,40,38,41,39,1745],"class_list":["post-148874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-north-america","tag-russia-invades-ukraine","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-uk-europe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148874","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148874"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148874\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/148875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}