London talks on ending Russia-Ukraine war pared down as Russian drone
attack on bus kills 9
[April 23, 2025]
By ILLIA NOVIKOV, AAMER MADHANI and JILL LAWLESS
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A planned meeting Wednesday between top U.S.,
British, French and Ukrainian diplomats to push for a peace deal between
Russia and Ukraine was scrapped at the last minute amid little sign of
progress in international efforts to end the more than three-year war.
U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced the talks in London would
involve only lower-ranking officials after the U.S. State Department
said Tuesday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio was unable to attend
because of a scheduling issue.
Rubio's abrupt cancelation raised doubts about the direction of the
negotiations. It came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensyy ruled
out ceding territory to Russia as part of any potential peace agreement,
calling it a nonstarter. The Ukrainian leader spoke Tuesday in response
to reports the Trump administration was proposing a deal that would
allow Russia to keep occupied Ukrainian territory as part of a potential
peace agreement.
Even achieving a limited, 30-day ceasefire has been beyond the reach of
negotiators, as both sides have continued to attack each other in a
grinding war of attrition along the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front
line and launch long-range strikes.
A Russian drone struck a bus carrying workers in Marganets, in eastern
Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region on Wednesday morning, killing seven
women and two men, regional head Serhii Lysak wrote on his Telegram
channel. More than 40 people were injured, he said.
Lysak published photos of a bus with its windows blown out and shards of
glass mixed with blood spattered on the bus floor.
Ukrainian delegation arrives in London despite change in U.S. plans
President Donald Trump has pushed for an end to the war and said last
week that negotiations were “coming to a head.” That comment came after
Rubio suggested that the U.S. might soon back away from negotiations if
they don’t progress.
Rubio had indicated that Wednesday’s meeting could be decisive in
determining whether the Trump administration remains engaged.
Those still attending the meeting included retired Lt. Gen. Keith
Kellogg, Trump’s envoy for Ukraine and Russia.
Andrii Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, said on X that
a delegation including him, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Defense
Minister Rustem Umerov had arrived in London for the talks despite the
alterations.
“The path to peace is not easy, but Ukraine has been and remains
committed to peaceful efforts,” Yermak said. Officials would “discuss
ways to achieve a full and unconditional ceasefire as the first step
toward a comprehensive settlement and the achievement of a just and
lasting peace.”
U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff was expected to visit Moscow again
later this week, according to Russian officials.
Zelenskyy rejects ceding territory to Moscow
The abrupt change of plans in London came amid growing speculation that
the U.S. will press Ukraine to cede territory to Russia as part of a
potential peace agreement — a possibility that Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday again ruled out.
During similar talks last week in Paris, U.S. officials presented a
proposal that included allowing Russia to keep control of occupied
Ukrainian territory as part of a deal, according to a European official
familiar with the matter.
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In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, a damaged
bus that was hit by the Russian drone in Marhanets, Dnipropetrovsk
region, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via
AP)
Zelenskyy pushed back against that during an appearance in Kyiv,
saying: “There is nothing to talk about — it is our land, the land
of the Ukrainian people.”
Russia, meanwhile, has effectively rejected a U.S. proposal for an
immediate and full 30-day halt in the fighting by imposing
far-reaching conditions.
Trump said repeatedly during his election campaign last year that he
would be able to end the war “in 24 hours” upon taking office. But
he has expressed frustration with Zelenskyy and Russian President
Vladimir Putin.
Some European allies are wary of the American proposal for Ukraine
to exchange land for peace. But an official said there’s also
acknowledgment by some allies that Russia is firmly entrenched
wholly or partially in five regions of Ukraine — Crimea, Luhansk,
Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
If the goal is to obtain a ceasefire immediately, “it should be
based on the line of contact as it is,” said a senior French
official. The official was not authorized to be publicly named and
spoke on the condition of anonymity according to French presidential
policy.
Moscow holds advantage on the battlefield
Still, Ukraine’s territorial integrity and aspirations to strengthen
ties with the rest of the continent are a top priority for the
Europeans, the European official said.
Britain had downplayed expectations of a breakthrough in London, but
says this is an important week for diplomatic efforts to stop the
fighting.
Western analysts say Moscow is in no rush to conclude peace talks,
because it has battlefield momentum and wants to capture more
Ukrainian land.
Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Ukraine’s delegation heading to the U.K.
had a mandate to discuss only an unconditional or partial ceasefire
with Russia. He said that “after a ceasefire, we’re prepared to sit
down for talks in any format.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov cautioned that reaching a settlement
could be a drawn-out process.
Putin declared a 30-hour unilateral ceasefire on Saturday, but
Ukraine and British officials said Russian attacks continued during
the alleged pause. The Associated Press was unable to verify whether
a ceasefire was in place along the roughly 1,000-kilometer
(620-mile) front line.
Meanwhile, both Russia and Ukraine are preparing for the
spring-summer military campaign, Ukrainian and Western officials
say.
___
Novikov reported from Kyiv and Madhani from Washington. Angela
Charlton in Paris contributed.
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