By Yuliia Dysa and Dan Peleschuk
KYIV, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Ukraine and its European partners will soon present the U.S. with "refined documents" on a peace plan to end the war with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday, following days of high-stakes diplomacy.
Kyiv is under pressure from the White House to secure a quick peace but is pushing back on a U.S.-backed plan proposed last month that many see as favourable to Moscow.
Ukrainian officials are also seeking strong security guarantees from partners, in the event of a deal, to prevent Russia from attacking again in the future.
In a statement, Zelenskiy said new components of the deal hashed out with the British, French and German leaders in London on Monday are ready for U.S. review.
"The Ukrainian and European components are now more developed, and we are ready to present them to our partners in the U.S.," he wrote on X. "Together with the American side, we expect to swiftly make the potential steps as doable as possible."
'CLOSER TO A PEACE AGREEMENT'
Finnish President Alexander Stubb said on Tuesday that allies worked on three separate documents, including a 20-point framework, a set of security guarantees and a reconstruction plan.
"I think we are closer to a peace agreement than we have been at any time since the war began," he said at an event in Helsinki.
Stubb spoke as U.S. President Donald Trump piled new pressure on Zelenskiy to secure a deal that could involve painful concessions, citing Russia's "upper hand" as it advances on the battlefield.
Among other demands, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Ukraine must hand over its entire eastern Donbas region before Russia stops fighting, something which Zelenskiy has consistently rejected.
"They're much bigger. They're much stronger in that sense," Trump said in an interview with Politico.
He added that Zelenskiy would "have to get on the ball and start... accepting things."
UN SECURITY COUNCIL
At a U.N. Security Council meeting on Ukraine, Deputy U.S. Ambassador Jennifer Locetta said the United States is working to bridge the divide between Moscow and Kyiv. She said the aim is to secure a permanent ceasefire and "a mutually agreed peace deal that leaves Ukraine sovereign and independent and with an opportunity for real prosperity."
Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said “what we have on the table are fairly realistic proposals for long-term, lasting settlement of Ukrainian conflict, something that our U.S. colleagues are diligently working on.”
“History relentlessly demonstrates that every new proposal being put before Ukraine is less favorable to it than the last,” he told the council. “Russia will achieve the objectives of its special military operation in any event. The only question is will we do this militarily or diplomatically? We reiterate that we prefer the latter course.”
(Additional reporting by Essi Lehto and Michelle Nichols; Writing by Dan PeleschukEditing by Gareth Jones and Lisa Shumaker)
