Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has given a positive assessment of a conversation he had with US envoys on how to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

Zelensky said Thursday's call with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, which lasted nearly an hour, had yielded "new ideas in terms of formats, meetings, and... timing on how to bring a real peace closer". He added later that he would hold another meeting with President Donald Trump "in the near future".

Earlier this week Zelensky gave details of an updated 20-point peace plan, agreed by US and Ukrainian envoys in Florida. 

The Kremlin said it was analysing proposals brought back from the US by a Russian envoy.

Trump and his envoys have been holding talks with both Ukraine and Russia in an effort to reach a deal to end the war which was started by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

There appears to have been some progress in recent days with Ukraine's president praising the "good ideas" put forward by Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Kushner.

Zelensky said it had been an "active day" for his country's diplomacy, as he went into details with the US envoys.

He conceded that there was still "work to be done on sensitive issues" but added that "together with the American team, we understand how to put all of this in place".

Zelensky added that Ukraine's top negotiator Rustem Umerov, the country's top security official, "will continue discussions with the American team".

The 20-point peace plan agreed by the US and Ukraine is seen as an update to the initial draft prepared by Witkoff several weeks ago.

That draft was widely seen as heavily geared towards Russia's maximalist pre-invasion demands, which Kyiv and its European allies said would mean the de facto capitulation of Ukraine.

Describing the updated proposal on Wednesday, Zelensky had said it offered Russia the potential withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the east and the creation of a demilitarised zone in their place.

He said the plan now included security guarantees from the US, Nato and Europeans for a co-ordinated military response if Russia invaded Ukraine again.

On the key question of Ukraine's industrial eastern Donetsk region, Zelensky said a "free economic zone" was a potential option. Any area that Ukrainian troops pulled out of would have to be policed by Ukraine, he stressed.

Moscow currently controls about 75% of the Donetsk region, and some 99% of the neighbouring Luhansk. They are collectively known as Donbas.

Zelensky has been under heavy pressure from Trump to cede all of Donbas to Russia during ongoing Washington-led peace negotiations.

The Ukrainian leader has so far rejected any territorial concessions, and instead demanded iron-clad security guarantees for Ukraine in any potential settlement.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly warned that Ukrainian troops must leave Donbas or Russia will seize it.

On Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was studying the proposals brought back from the US by the Russian envoy, Kirill Dmitriev.

"We are examining this material, and depending on the decisions made by the head of state, we will continue our communication with the Americans," he said.

While diplomatic efforts to end the conflict inch forward, fighting continues on the ground. 

The Ukrainian military said on Thursday that it had struck one of Russia's key oil refineries in the southern region of Rostov with cruise missiles. 

The Novoshakhtinsk refinery near the Ukrainian border is critical for supplying fuel for Russian military operations in occupied eastern Ukraine.

The Russian defence ministry said its forces had taken control of the settlement of Sviato-Pokrovske in the Donetsk region.

Earlier this week, Ukrainian troops withdrew from the embattled eastern town of Siversk.

The capture of the town brings Russia closer to the last remaining "fortress belt" cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk still in Ukrainian hands in the Donetsk region.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g413yz9g5o?ysclid=mjnexhtmy8225684169

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLlpZbMGZgE

Danny argues that repeated calls for new meetings and formats—especially by President Zelensky—do not address the brutal battlefield reality where lives are lost daily. They criticize European leaders for avoiding hard truths and dealing in “fantasy,” while noting that Zelensky, unlike them, actually has decision-making power to end the war.

Zelensky’s recent push for high-level meetings with Trump and his advisers is seen as unproductive because it offers no new substance capable of changing Russia’s position. Although Zelensky unveiled a 20-point peace plan (down from an earlier 28 points), which shows some diplomatic progress and includes areas of potential overlap with Russia, it still contains four “poison pills” and omits three core Russian demands—making it a non-starter.

Russia’s unchanged red lines include Ukrainian neutrality (no NATO), demilitarization, constitutional protections for Russian speakers, and full control of the four contested territories. Proposals like Western security guarantees or a demilitarized zone are viewed as unrealistic because Russia has no incentive to accept them and has repeatedly reaffirmed its position, including constitutionally incorporating territories like Crimea and Donbas.

The speaker contends that there has been zero movement on core issues from Ukraine, Europe, or Russia. Trump is portrayed as lacking firm core principles on the conflict, primarily wanting the war to end for political credit, and unwilling to use U.S. leverage to force a settlement. Ultimately, without the power to compel concessions on fundamental issues, new meetings, plans, or media presentations are dismissed as meaningless theatrics rather than real steps toward ending the war.

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THIS IS WHERE WE SHOULD INTRODUCE [AGAIN?] THE PHILOSOPHY OF WAR BY CLAUSEWITZ....

INTRODUCTORY MATERIAL

• "Clausewitz and His Works." (This is a contemporary introduction by Christopher Bassford
(originally written 1991, the latest version updated 2023)

• Preface to the First Edition by Marie von Clausewitz

• Notice

• The Introduction of the Author

• 1908 Introduction by Colonel Frederick N. Maude

• Information on the 1873 Translator, Colonel J.J. Graham
  plus Christopher Mewett, "J.J. Graham: A Biographical Sketch."

• Some Notes on This Translation

BOOK I: ON THE NATURE OF WAR

• 1. What is War?

• 2. Ends and Means in War

• 3. The Genius for War

• 4. On Danger in War

• 5. On Bodily Exertion in War

• 6. Information in War

• 7. Friction in War

• 8. Concluding Remarks

BOOK II: ON THE THEORY OF WAR

• 1. Branches of the Art of War

• 2. On the Theory of War

• 3. Art or Science of War

• 4. Methodicism

• 5. Criticism

• 6. On Examples

BOOK III: OF STRATEGY IN GENERAL

• 1. Strategy

• 2. Elements of Strategy

• 3. Moral Forces

• 4. The Chief Moral Powers

• 5. Military Virtue of an Army

• 6. Boldness

• 7. Perseverance

• 8. Superiority of Numbers

• 9. The Surprise

• 10. Stratagem

• 11. Assembly of Forces in Space

• 12. Assembly of Forces in Time

• 13. Strategic Reserve

• 14. Economy of Forces

• 15. Geometrical Element 

• 16. On the Suspension of the Act in War

• 17. On the Character of Modern War

• 18. Tension and Rest

BOOK IV: THE COMBAT

• 1. Introductory

• 2. Character of a Modern Battle

• 3. The Combat in General

• 4. The Combat in General (continuation)

• 5. On the Signification of the Combat

• 6. Duration of Combat

• 7. Decision of the Combat

• 8. Mutual Understanding as to a Battle

• 9. The Battle

• 10. Effects of Victory

• 11. The Use of the Battle

• 12. Strategic Means of Utilising Victory

• 13. Retreat After a Lost Battle

• 14. Night Fighting

BOOK V: MILITARY FORCES

• 1. General Scheme

• 2. Theatre of War, Army, Campaign

• 3. Relation of Power

• 4. Relation of the Three Arms

• 5. Order of Battle of an Army

• 6. General Disposition of an Army

• 7. Advanced Guard and Out-Posts

• 8. Mode of Action of Advanced Corps

• 9. Camps

• 10. Marches

• 11. Marches (continued)

• 12. Marches (continued)

• 13. Cantonments

• 14. Subsistence

• 15. Base of Operations

• 16. Lines of Communication

• 17. On Country and Ground

• 18. Command of Ground

BOOK VI: DEFENCE

• 1. Offence and Defence

• 2. The Relations of the Offensive and Defensive to Each Other in Tactics

• 3. The Relations of the Offensive and Defensive to Each Other in Strategy

• 4. Convergence of Attack and Divergence of Defence

• 5. Character of Strategic Defensive

• 6. Extent of the Means of Defence

• 7. Mutual Action and Reaction of Attack and Defence

• 8. Methods of Resistance

• 9. Defensive Battle

• 10. Fortresses

• 11. Fortresses (continuation)

• 12. Defensive Position

• 13. Strong Positions and Entrenched Camps

• 14. Flank Positions

• 15. Defence of Mountains

• 16. Defence of Mountains (continued)

• 17. Defence of Mountains (continued)

• 18. Defence of Streams and Rivers

• 19. Defence of Streams and Rivers (continued)

• 20.A. Defence of Swamps

• 20.B. Inundations

• 21. Defence of Forests

• 22. The Cordon

• 23. Key of the Country

• 24. Operating Against a Flank

• 25. Retreat into the Interior of the Country

• 26. Arming the Nation

• 27. Defence of a Theatre of War

• 28. Defence of a Theatre of War (continued)

• 29. Defence of a Theatre of War (continued)—Successive Resistance

• 30. Defence of a Theatre of War (continued) When No Decision is Sought For

SKETCHES FOR BOOK VII: THE ATTACK

• 1. The Attack in Relation to the Defence

• 2. Nature of the Strategical Attack

• 3. On the Objects of Strategical Attack

• 4. Decreasing Force of the Attack

• 5. Culminating Point of the Attack

• 6. Destruction of the Enemy’s Armies

• 7. The Offensive Battle

• 8. Passage of Rivers

• 9. Attack on Defensive Positions

• 10. Attack on an Entrenched Camp

• 11. Attack on a Mountain Range

• 12. Attack on Cordon Lines

• 13. Maneuvering

• 14. Attack on Morasses, Inundations, Woods

• 15. Attack on a Theatre of War with the View to a Decision

• 16. Attack on a Theatre of War without the View to a Great Decision

• 17. Attack on Fortresses

• 18. Attack on Convoys

• 19. Attack on the Enemy's Army in its Cantonments

• 20. Diversions

• 21. Invasion

• 22. On the Culminating Point of Victory

SKETCHES FOR BOOK VIII: PLAN OF WAR

• 1. Introduction

• 2. Absolute and Real War

• 3.A. Interdependence of the Parts in a War

• 3.B. On the Magnitude of the Object of the War and the Efforts to be Made

• 4. Ends in War More Precisely Defined—Overthrow of the Enemy

• 5. Ends in War More Precisely Defined (continuation)—Limited Object

• 6.A. Influence of the Political Object on the Military Object

• 6.B. War as an Instrument of Policy

• 7. Limited Object—Offensive War

• 8. Limited Object—Defence

• 9. Plan of War When the Destruction of the Enemy is the Object

https://clausewitzstudies.org/readings/OnWar1873/TOC.htm?

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YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT — SINCE 2005.

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.