Zelenskyy to meet US army secretary after American and Russian officials draft plan to end war – Europe live

12.57pm GMT 400,000 Ukrainians without electricity after recent Russian strike, officials say More than 400,000 Ukrainian consumers remained without electricity as of midday on Thursday following a recent large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine’s western regions, energy officials quoted by Reuters said. The attack led to a decrease in electricity production at Ukrainian nuclear power plants. Reuters noted that Russia has sharply increased the intensity and number of its attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure in recent months, targeting gas, energy and distribution facilities and plunging entire cities into darkness. Ukraine generates more than half of its electricity at three nuclear power plants, but damage to power lines and transformers has forced the plants to reduce their output, a representative of the national nuclear energy company Energoatom told Reuters. 11.56am GMT Reported US-Russian 28-point plan to end Russian invasion of Ukraine - explainer US and Russian officials have reportedly drafted a new plan to end the war in Ukraine and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet with top Pentagon officials in Kyiv on Thursday. But what do the new proposals consist of? The full details are not clear, but the key tenets of the 28-point deal – reported first by Axios, the FT and the New York Times – are believed to include a demand for Ukraine to cede the rest of the Russian occupied eastern Donbas region to Russia, cut its armed forces by half, and reduce or altogether abandon certain types of weaponry, particularly long-range missiles that could hit targets in Russia. Interactive That would mean Ukraine voluntarily handing over areas of its territory to Russia that Moscow has been unable to take by force. Kyiv would also be expected to agree to reducing or halting US military assistance, particularly, and any future deployment of western troops to Ukraine – as envisaged by the Franco-British-led Coalition of the Willing – would also be banned. In cultural policies, the deal reportedly requires Ukraine to recognise Russian as an official state language and to grant formal status to the Russian Orthodox Church, prompting further concerns about creeping attempts to russify the country. As part of the deal, Ukraine and Europe could get some US security guarantees against future Russian aggression, although no details were reported of what they could entail. The US was a signatory of the 1994 Budapest memorandum on Ukraine’s security, which was later violated by Russia, and it is not immediately clear how the new proposal would safeguard against a similar scenario in the future. The proposal appears to repeat Moscow’s maximalist demands, violate numerous Ukrainian red lines and would require a humiliating U-turn from Zelenskyy, who previously made it clear that giving up territory would be unacceptable to his administration. It would also likely be deemed unacceptable to Ukraine’s European allies, who have long insisted that they should be given a role in the peace talks given the broader implications of the settlement for the continent’s security, particularly on Nato’s eastern flank. The plan was reportedly drafted by Russian and American officials, including the influential head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, Kirill Dmitriev, who has been involved in previous talks on Ukraine and is known to be in touch with US special envoy Steve Witkoff. When the plan was first reported by Axios, Witkoff posted on X below a post from the journalist who broke the story, sending what appeared to be meant as a private message and was quickly deleted, saying: “He must have got this from K.” No US officials have formally confirmed the content of the plan so far, with White House deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, telling reporters he had no news or announcements to make on this topic. US state secretary Marco Rubio issued a cryptic response to frenzied speculations overnight, saying only that “ending a complex and deadly war such as the one in Ukraine requires an extensive exchange of serious and realistic ideas.” “Achieving a durable peace will require both sides to agree to difficult but necessary concessions. That is why we are and will continue to develop a list of potential ideas for ending this war based on input from both sides of this conflict,” he said on X. Updated at 12.17pm GMT 11.30am GMT Zelenskyy to meet top US army delegation in Kyiv later today Meanwhile back to Ukraine, it is being reported that the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, will meet with top Pentagon officials in Kyiv later today, with AFP noting that the meeting will take place just as details emerge of a US plan to end the war with Moscow on terms favourable to the Kremlin. Zelenskyy’s aide Dmytro Lytvyn told journalists that the president would meet with the US delegations, led by US army secretary Daniel Driscoll, later today. The US team also met earlier with Ukraine’s PM Julia Svyrydenko (11:18). Updated at 11.46am GMT 11.24am GMT EU-US trade deal may not get adopted 'smoothly' because of underlying 'problems,' influential MEP warns in Brussels The chair of the European parliament’s international trade committee has said he is “not sure” if the EU-US trade deal agreed between Donald Trump and Ursula von der Leyen will have a “smooth” passage through the legislative process in the bloc. His remarks come just days before US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick will have lunch with foreign ministers of the 27 EU member states who gather for a council summit in Brussels on Monday. “I’m not sure that we will really adopt this quite smoothly because there are some problems,” Bernd Lange, German MEP told a trade policy conference at the European Commission. The European parliamentary process, which could see some amendments to the deal, is unlikely to be finished before February. The deal saw the US and EU agree a 15% tariff applying to many imports from Europe but a 50% tariff remaining on steel with a new 15% import duty on wine and spirits. US trade representative Jamieson Greer will travel to Europe next week to meet European trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič while US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick is due in Brussels on Monday. Lange said he was also concerned about the “uncertainty” surrounding a ruling on whether Donald Trump’s tariffs are legal. “We will not know what the Supreme Court will rule until next month or beginning of January. And so therefore we have to wait a little bit to finalise this, perhaps in general February, then it’s clear if they reduce the tariffs.” Updated at 11.27am GMT 11.21am GMT Brazil's EU ambassador hits out at 'fake news' circulating about Mercosur trade deal in Brussels Brazil’s ambassador to the EU has hit out the “fake news” about meat and other food from Latin American countries, saying nobody is trying to “poison” citizens of European under the recent trade deal with Mercosur countries that continues to be opposed by farmers. Pedro Miguel da Costa e Silva told a trade conference at the European Commission that half of his country’s exports to the EU are coffee and soy, neither products produced locally, which go on to support a lot of business in the EU. “I think there is a lot of misperception, a lot of disinformation, a lot of fake news about the quality, like we’re going to poison the citizens of the EU that none of our products have quality, which makes no sense”. He said there was also much disinformation about Brazil and other countries in Mercosur such as Argentina flooding Europe with food. “If you look at the numbers, that, again, is not correct, you’re talking about 1% less than 1%. If you look at what Brazil exports to the EU, half of it is coffee and soy, two things that you do not produce, that you use as inputs, and that generates revenue, a lot of revenue, for the EU. And if you look at the other products, it’s minerals, it’s frozen orange juice. None of that is sensitive to the EU agricultural producers.” 11.07am GMT Kyiv receives 1,000 bodies of killed soldiers from Russia In the last hour, Ukraine said it had received from Russia the remains of 1,000 people that Moscow said were killed Ukrainian soldiers, in the latest repatriation – a rare area of cooperation between the warring sides, AFP reported. “Today, repatriation measures took place. 1000 bodies, claimed by the Russian side to belong to Ukrainian servicemen, were returned to Ukraine,” Kyiv’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said on social media. 10.18am GMT Ukraine's Svyrydenko hosts top US army official, calls for strengthened sanctions on Russia Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko has met with US army secretary Daniel P. Driscoll, saying the pair had a chance “to assess the situation on the ground and to witness first-hand the consequences of Russian aggression.” “While Russia continues killing innocent civilians, destroying homes, and targeting critical infrastructure, the strategy of pressure on Russia is proving effective. It is crucial to further strengthen energy and financial sanctions against the aggressor state,” she said. Svyrydenko noted that she also confirmed Ukraine’s commitment to the US-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund, set up with US president Trump. Not a word on the rumoured US peace proposal, notably. 10.16am GMT Germany's Merz talks train sabotage, Ukraine in phone call with Poland's Tusk Chancellor Friedrich Merz spoke by telephone Wednesday evening with Polish prime minister Donald Tusk, according to a statement from the German government’s spokesperson released a moment ago. The pair discussed the Russian rail sabotage attack over the weekend, with Merz “condemning the attack in the strongest terms” and “reaffirming Germany’s solidarity with Poland.” They also spoke about the need for continued support for Ukraine and the upcoming government consultations in December. 10.08am GMT Russian parliament says any move to seize frozen Russian assets should be met with legal challenge against Belgium Meanwhile, we are getting a news line via Reuters that the Russian parliament said that any potential EU seizure of frozen Russian assets must be met by a claim for damages against Belgium and Euroclear. The risk of such legal challenge has been the main reason for Belgium’s opposition to proposed EU measures, and this is unlikely to change now that Moscow spelled this risk out so explicitly. The Russian parliament also added that it could use the assets of non-residents from “unfriendly” to compensate for any losses caused by the confiscation of Russian assets by the EU. 9.45am GMT Poland requests extradition of two sabotage suspects in rail sabotage incident from Belarus Meanwhile over in Poland, the Belarusian charge d’affaires in Warsaw received a note requesting the extradition of two Ukrainian citizens suspected of sabotage on rail on behalf of Russia, a foreign ministry spokesperson told state news agency PAP. 9.44am GMT Czech rail collision needs to be investigated 'quickly and transparently,' president says Czech president Petr Pavel said he was following the news of the train collision “with great concern,” as he expressed his sympathy with all injured in the crash (10:21). “It is essential that the causes of the accident be investigated as quickly and transparently as possible. The safety of citizens must always come first, and it is necessary to ensure that such accidents do not happen again,” he said. 9.21am GMT Dozens injured after train crash in Czech Republic Around 5o people were hurt after two trains have collided in southern Czech Republic this morning, with two people seriously injured, according to local emergency services. The crash took place near the city of České Budějovice after 6am, with authorities investigating the cause of the crash. Transport minister Martin Kupka said on X the crash was still under investigation but preliminary information showed one of the trains likely passed a signal in the stop position. Early reports say the track was not equipped with ETCS safety system, just like in a similar crash in Slovakia last week. 9.14am GMT Dispute over chips supply from Nexperia not yet fully resolved, China says in Brussels The Chinese ministry of commerce has said the dispute over the supply of chips from Nexperia, the Dutch-based Chinese-owed company, is still not fully resolved. “There is still a gap to completely solve the problem,” the Chinese ministry of commerce, or Mofcom, said on Thursday. Nexperia has been at the heart of a global slow down of chip supply after the Dutch government effectively took control of the company in the EU amid concerns the company was moving its intellectual and physical assets to China. Mofcom said it hopes to “continue to see sincere cooperation” and an “early settlement”. The car manufacturers trade body in the EU, ACEA, yesterday said that although the supply of chips had been restored following Beijing’s decision to lift a ban on chips, supplies remained “critical”. Jonathan O’Riordan, director of international trade said a “bridging agreement” was still needed to secure long term supply to the sector, which a few weeks ago said it was “days away” from halting production. Nexperia’s wafers need input from both the EU and China with the Netherlands producing the wafers which are then sent to the parent plants in China for finishing and global export. Yesterday the Dutch economy minister Vincent Karremans said they would lift the order which imposed controls on Nexperia in the EU as a “gesture of goodwill” to the Chinese. But Wingtech, the Nexperia Chinese, hit out demanding it permanently rescind the order that placed it under state control and insisting it had done nothing to warrant the Dutch action. “Minister Karremans justified his actions by accusing Nexperia’s CEO of various acts of alleged mismanagement. Wingtech strongly rejects these accusations and points out that, to date, no proof has been provided,” a spokesperson for Wingtech said. 8.58am GMT 'Everything can be weaponised' in global trade, EU's trade chief Šefčovič warns in Brussels Meanwhile, European trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič has said the decades old global trading system with secure global supply chains is over. In the wake of the most recent battle between the EU and China over the supply of chips for the auto industry, he told a conference in Brussels “everything could be weaponised”. Trade, he said, is the “new tool” in the trade wars now causing geopolitical waves between China and the US, Europe and the US with import and export bans being imposed at will by Beijing. “Europe for years, kind of relied upon the reliable global supply chains; this is a new situation. And suddenly we might have new tariffs, might have new exports controls. Simply, that system, which was built for decades, is not there any more. Everything could be weaponised. So unfortunately, it became the new tool in this, I would say, geopolitical competition.” A “well functioning World Trade Organization” with reforms was vital for the future of free trade, he added. 8.52am GMT Morning opening: EU meets to discuss the latest on Ukraine EU foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels this morning amid reported growing pressure on Ukraine to consider a secretive draft plan to end the war based on what effectively amounts to a capitulation from Kyiv. The draft plan, which was reportedly developed by Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, and the Kremlin adviser Kirill Dmitriev, would force draconian measures on Ukraine that would give Russia unprecedented control over the country’s military and political sovereignty. The plan is likely to be viewed as surrender in Kyiv. Related: US and Russian officials draft plan to end Ukraine war based on capitulation from Kyiv Arriving at the meeting, EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said: “What we as Europeans have always supported is a long, lasting and just peace, and we welcome any efforts to achieve that. Of course, for any plan to work, it needs Ukrainians and Europeans on board, so this is very clear. Also, we have to understand that in this war, there is one aggressor and one victim. So we haven’t heard of any concessions on the Russian side. If Russia really wanted peace, it could have … agreed to unconditional ceasefire already some time ago, whereas we see again over this night bombings of civilians; 93% of Russian targets have been civilian infrastructure: schools, hospitals, apartment buildings, to really kill a lot of people and cause as much suffering as possible.” Kallas also confirmed that, to her knowledge, no European leaders were involved in preparing the proposal. French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, insisted that peace in Ukraine could not mean “capitulation” for Kyiv. “Discussions are needed for us to reach a just and durable peace in Ukraine, they should start with a ceasefire on the contact line that allows for orderly discussions on the question of territories and security,” he said. Spain’s José Manuel Albares also insisted that any peace plans for Ukraine must involved Kyiv and the EU. But not all are equally supportive: Hungary’s Péter Szijjártó said that the EU should immediately stop any future payment to “a war mafia” in Ukraine, as he warned that “it’s an illusion to say that the time is on the side of Ukraine.” The EU meeting comes as Ukraine mourns 26 people killed in a Russian strike on Ternopil, with 22 further people still missing. Related: Ukraine war briefing: rescuers comb through rubble after Russian attack kills at least 26 I will bring you all the latest reactions here. It’s Thursday, 20 November 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live. Good morning.