War in Ukraine: Washington predicts a “crucial week” for negotiations

Negotiations on Ukraine will enter a “crucial week” on Monday, predicted the United States who put pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky so that he renounces Crimea in exchange for peace with Russia.

These hopes were expressed by the American Secretary of State Marco Rubio, while the fighting gives no sign of appeasement. During the night from Saturday to Sunday, Russia launched an attack of 150 drones and missiles, according to Volodymyr Zelensky, killing four people in eastern Ukraine. And Moscow announced the total “release” of the Koursk region, which Ukraine has denied.

“We are close (an agreement), but not close enough,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the NBC channel on Sunday. “I think this week will be crucial.”

Washington did not reveal the details of his peace plan, but suggested freezing the front line and that kyiv conceded Crimea to Russia in exchange for the end of hostilities, which kyiv does not want to hear about.

Contradicting Volodymyr Zelensky’s statements, Donald Trump said he believed on Sunday that the Ukrainian leader is ready to give up the Crimea. “I think yes. Crimea was 12 years ago, “Donald Trump told a journalist who asked him if he believed Volodymyr Zelensky ready to” abandon “the peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.

The American president has expressed doubts in recent days on Vladimir Putin’s desire to end the war. “I want him to stop shooting. Sit and sign the agreement, ”said Donald Trump on Sunday. “We have the basics of an agreement, I believe, and I want him to sign it,” he added.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Sunday that Ukraine should not give up all the territories occupied by Russia as Donald Trump would like.

Russia occupies about 20% of the Ukrainian territory, including Crimea. On Saturday, the chief of staff of the Russian army, Valéri Guérassimov, assured President Vladimir Putin that the Koursk region had been entirely “liberated” from the Ukrainian troops.

The general had notably praised the “heroism” of the North Korean soldiers fighting for Russia-the first admission by Moscow of their participation in the conflict.

North Korea also confirmed on Monday for the first time the presence of its troops in Russia to participate “in the operations of liberation from the Koursk areas” within the framework of the mutual defense agreement between the two countries. The official agency KCNA assured that the war effort of these soldiers had “concluded victoriously”.

“Those who fought for justice are all heroes and representatives of the Honor of the Fatherland,” said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, quoted by KCNA. He added that a monument commemorating the “exploits of the battle” would soon be erected in the capital Pyongyang.

For several weeks, Ukrainian troops have been back in this area of ​​the front, the Russian army gradually advancing. The Ukrainian forces initially occupied several hundred square kilometers in the Koursk region since August 2024, when they had launched an unprecedented counter-offensive on Russian soil.

Ukrainian leaders had justified this surprise assault on Russian soil by the desire to have a new card in their game as part of possible peace discussions.

Volodymyr Zelensky recently proposed to Russia to agree on a territorial “exchange”, which Moscow, whose army continues to progress elsewhere on the front, had immediately rejected. Since then, the pocket under Ukrainian control has narrowed, to be reduced to sorrow. Ukraine, however, said on Sunday that his troops continued to fight.

“Our army continues to conduct operations in the (Russian) regions of Koursk and Belgorod. We maintain our presence in Russian territory, ”said Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday during his evening speech. Earlier, he recognized that the situation remained difficult in many areas, including Koursk.

Since Saturday, several Russian Telegram channels specializing in fighting fights have also brought in fighting still in progress between Russians and Ukrainians on the border. In addition, a Russian commander in Koursk said that the Russian army still conducted operations in the region, according to a state television program broadcast on Sunday.