Posted on 11/20/2025 3:49:21 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
Grok Summary of Video Transcript:
US-Ukraine Discussions Amid Peace Efforts
Senior Pentagon officials are visiting Kyiv to meet President Zelensky, focusing on President Trump's initiatives to end the Russia-Ukraine war. This occurs alongside unconfirmed media reports of a US-Russian envoy proposal for restarting Kyiv-Moscow negotiations. The reported 28-point plan demands major Ukrainian concessions, such as full withdrawal from the Donbas region and caps on military size—proposals Ukraine has historically rejected, including bans on foreign troops, long-range weapons, and mandating Russian as an official language. Ukrainian officials, including the deputy foreign minister, dismiss it as Russian psychological operations. The US delegation describes their trip as a fact-finding mission rather than formal peace talks, having already met Ukraine's defense minister.
Recent Russian Attack on Ternopil
A Russian strike on Wednesday killed at least 26 people, including three children, in the western Ukrainian city of Ternopil—one of the deadliest attacks on the region's civilians since the war began. President Zelensky reported 22 people still missing, with search and rescue operations ongoing amid cleanup efforts. The assault targeted civilian infrastructure, aligning with reports that 93% of Russian strikes hit such sites like schools, hospitals, and apartments to maximize suffering.
European Response and Stance
European foreign ministers convened in Brussels with Ukraine as a key agenda item. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas emphasized that any viable peace plan must involve Ukraine and Europe, stressing a "long-lasting and just peace." She highlighted Russia as the sole aggressor and victimizer, noting no Russian concessions despite ongoing civilian bombings, and called for an unconditional ceasefire if Moscow seeks peace. Poland's Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski echoed this, praising peace efforts but insisting Europe—Ukraine's primary supporter—be consulted, with restrictions applied to the aggressor's (Russia's) military potential, not the victim's self-defense. No European involvement in US-Russian drafting is known.
Broader Context and Zelensky's Challenges
BBC defense correspondent Jonathan Beale in Kyiv noted scant public details on the talks, urging caution as they may stem from unverified Russian sources without White House or Ukrainian confirmation. Domestically, Zelensky faces mounting pressure from territorial losses in the east (e.g., Russian advances near Pokrovsk), nationwide energy blackouts from infrastructure attacks, and a corruption scandal prompting ministerial resignations—though Zelensky himself is not implicated. Despite these strains after nearly four years of fighting, Ukraine remains committed to defending its sovereignty and territory, viewing the rumored plan as largely unacceptable. Updates will follow as details emerge.
Video Transcript:
(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.)
Senior Pentagon officials visiting Ukraine are expected to meet President Zelensky for discussions that will include President Trump's efforts to end the war. Well, it comes amid unconfirmed media reports that US and Russian envoys have drawn up a set of proposals for restarting negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow. Those proposals would reportedly require Ukraine to make sweeping concessions, including completely withdrawing from the eastern Donbas region and limiting the size of its military.
Well, it comes as at least 26 people, including three children, were killed in a Russian attack on the Ukrainian city of Ternopil on Wednesday. We're continuing to monitor the live shot there as the cleanup operation is underway and recovery operation, of course. Now, Ukraine is saying that this was one of the deadliest strikes on the western part of the country since the war began.
President Zelensky says 22 people are still missing as the search and rescue operations continue. Well, European foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels today with Ukraine very much on the agenda. And within the last few hours, the European Union's foreign policy chief, Kaya Kallas, said that Kyiv and Europe must be involved in any peace plan for Ukraine if it's to work.
What we as Europeans have always supported is a long lasting and just peace, and we welcome any efforts to achieve that. Of course, for any plan to work, it needs Ukrainians and Europeans on board. So this is very clear.
Also, we have to understand that in this war, there is one aggressor and one victim. So we haven't heard of any concessions on the Russian side. I mean, if Russia really wanted peace, it could have, you know, agreed to unconditional ceasefire already some time ago.
Whereas we see, again, over this night, bombings of civilians. Ninety three percent of Russian targets have been civilian infrastructure. I mean, schools, hospitals, apartment buildings to really, you know, kill a lot of people and cause as much suffering as possible.
Have European officials in any way been part of the drafting of the agreement between the US and Russia? Not that I know of. So that's Kaya Kallas. The Polish foreign minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, said that Europe's security is at stake.
We commend peace efforts. But Europe is the main pair, the main supporter of Ukraine. And it's, of course, Europe's security that's at stake.
So we expect to be consulted. And also, I hope it's not the victim that has restrictions on its ability to defend itself put on, but it's the aggressor whose aggressive potential should be restricted. Poland's foreign minister there.
Well, our defence correspondent in Kyiv, Jonathan Beale, says that details around the talks are unclear. There is not much public comment, if any at all. I think we've heard from the first deputy foreign minister of Ukraine, who's called it a Russian psyops operation.
So essentially dismissing it. I mean, if you look at some of the talking points, the 28 points, some of them out there are points that have been clearly rejected by Ukraine in the past by President Zelensky, such as giving up the entire Donbass, not allowing foreign troops into the country, giving up long range weapons, having Russian as an official language. They are, many of those, unacceptable to Ukraine.
I think it's important to say that this meeting, this possible meeting, we haven't had it confirmed between the senior US generals and officials with President Zelensky. This is not the team you would have to lead peace negotiations. They are here, they say, for a fact-finding mission and to discuss efforts to end the war in the wider sense.
They've already met the defence minister here, smiling picture of the defence minister with the US army secretary. So that seemed to go according to plan. So I think we have to be very careful about whether this is a plan that's been, first of all, approved by the White House, whether it's a final plan, whether we're hearing mostly from the Russian side as to what they like in this plan.
We haven't heard anything officially from the Ukrainians. What we have heard is from the European foreign ministers who are meeting, and they are saying the same thing essentially, that any plan must have the involvement of Europe and Ukraine. And of course, we're keeping an eye on what is happening in Brussels.
But when it comes to the timing of this, domestically, Zelensky is under a lot of pressure with the ongoing corruption scandal. Of course, Jonathan, no one's suggesting that President Zelensky is implicated, but he is under intense pressure to take stronger action to show accountability. Yeah, and I think he's under wider pressure.
If you look at what's happening in this war, he is losing. Ukraine is losing ground in the east. Russia is advancing.
It's made significant advances, speeded up those advances in the last month or so, as Ukraine still tries to defend the city of Pokrovsk. You've got the energy outages that most of the country, if not all the country, are experiencing as Russia targets the energy infrastructure. And then, as you say, you have these allegations of corruption hanging around the government.
And certainly, ministers have already resigned, even though they say they have not done anything wrong. So there is a sense of perhaps weakness or weaker government than it was six months ago. But I think you've got to then remember what Ukraine has been fighting for over the last best part of four years now.
And it is for their land, for their territory, for their right to be an independent country. And I don't think there's much in this plan that they would like, or this plan that's been leaked, or the rumors of what might be in it. There's not much in there that they would like.
As and when, of course, we get any details, we will bring them to you. That was Jonathan Beale in Ukraine, in Kyiv.
(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.)
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We’ll know the talks are genuine when they become “piece talks” what pieces of each area go to which combatant leader.
That’s why there’s always a rush of battles to gain ground before someone draws lines to say “it will stay at this parallel and this line here from now on.”
Bkmk
This is a joke! Tick-Tock, all the Russians need to do is wait out the inevitable fall of Ukraine. There won’t be any division, they’ll just be complete conquest. History teaches that Catherine the Great was right about Russia’s need for access to warm-water ports.
“We’ll know the talks are genuine when they become “piece talks” what pieces of each area go to which combatant leader.”
Pretty much what this round of meetings is - the MAIN PLAYERS divvying up Ukraine in a way that they are no longer a threat to world peace.
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