Ukraine, Russia trade deadly strikes as negotiators hammer at deal

KYIV,

Ukraine and Russia counted casualties Tuesday after trading deadly overnight strikes, as negotiators scrambled to revise a framework to end the nearly four-year conflict ahead of a US-imposed deadline.

US President Donald Trump has given Kyiv until November 27—the American holiday of Thanksgiving—to respond to his proposal to end the fighting, a timeline and blueprint that European leaders have baulked at.

Despite this, Kyiv and its allies dedicated the weekend to refining Washington's 28-point plan, which initially aligned closely with Russia's strict demands, mandating the invaded nation to relinquish territory, reduce its military, and commit to never joining NATO again.

Over the weekend, emergency talks in Geneva thrashed out an updated version, aiming to "uphold Ukraine's sovereignty".

Countries supporting Kyiv—part of the “coalition of the willing”—are due to hold a video call Tuesday to discuss the state of the plan.

On the battlefield, the adversaries ramped up pressure with a flurry of overnight attacks.

Before dawn Tuesday, Russia’s defence ministry said it had intercepted and destroyed 249 Ukrainian drones—one of the highest figures reported.

Acting governor Yuri Sliusar in Russia's Rostov region reported that the strikes claimed the lives of at least three people.

“Tonight’s enemy attack brought tremendous grief,” Sliusar said.

In the Krasnodar frontier region, Governor Veniamin Kondratyev called the overnight bombardment “one of the Kyiv regime’s most sustained and massive attacks”.

Across the border in the Ukrainian capital, AFP journalists heard powerful explosions and saw people running for shelters as air raid sirens blared.

Authorities in Kyiv said at least two people died and seven were wounded in the capital after a barrage of missiles and drones targeted the country’s beleaguered energy sector.

“We must be cognisant that Russia will not ease its pressure on Ukraine,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said as his air force issued a nationwide missile warning.

Zelensky has described his country as being in a "critical moment," after saying last week that Ukraine risked losing either its "dignity" or Washington as an ally.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who welcomed the original US plan to end the fighting, has threatened to seize more Ukrainian territory if Kyiv walks away from the negotiations.

Russia’s military already occupies around a fifth of Ukraine—much of it ravaged by years of fighting.

Kyiv and its European allies say the war, the largest and deadliest on European soil since World War II, is an unprovoked and illegal land grab that has resulted in a tidal wave of violence and destruction.

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, it has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of civilians and military personnel.

Revised plan –

Ukrainian, American, and European officials convened in Switzerland on Sunday, following widespread criticism of the US proposal to halt the war for requiring excessive surrender.

A joint US-Ukrainian statement after the weekend talks announced an “updated and refined peace framework”.

While the latest draft has not been published, the White House hailed it as progress, and the joint statement affirmed, “any future agreement must fully uphold Ukraine’s sovereignty”.

Kyiv’s delegation said the latest draft “already reflects most of Ukraine’s key priorities”.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has thrown doubt on the ability to strike a deal by Trump’s November 27 deadline, saying that discussions would be a “lengthy, long-lasting process”.

The United States had bypassed Europe with the original plan, and many EU governments were unsettled by the prospect of ending the war on Moscow’s terms.

The US plan, originally made up of 28 points, would see Ukraine effectively cede its eastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions to Russia and slash the size of its military—demands that Kyiv has described as unacceptable.

The White House has pushed back against criticism that Trump was favouring Russia.

“The idea that the United States of America is not engaging with both sides equally in this war to bring it to an end is a complete and total fallacy,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday.

A senior official told AFP the United States had pressed Ukraine to accept the proposal.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Washington did not directly threaten to cut off aid if Kyiv rejected its proposals, but that Ukraine understood this was a distinct possibility.

The source said they did not understand why Washington was hurrying towards a deal but that “everyone” was for an end to the war if there was a real opportunity to do so.