Zelenskyy calls Trump's frontline proposal 'a good compromise'

Ukrainian leader not confident Russia would agree to end fighting on current lines

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, is welcomed by Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store in Oslo. AP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday he backed US President Donald Trump's proposal that the current front line in Ukraine should be the basis for negotiations with Russia.

Russia now occupies around a fifth of Ukrainian territory – much of it ravaged by fighting – while tens of thousands of civilians and soldiers have been killed since President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Mr Trump "proposed 'Stay where we stay and begin conversation'", Mr Zelenskyy said during a brief visit to Oslo. "I think that was a good compromise but I'm not sure that Putin will support it, and I said it to the President."

Mr Trump on Tuesday repeated his desire – rejected by the Kremlin – to see current battlefield lines frozen as part of a ceasefire agreement. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed that idea, signalling that Moscow will stick to its maximalist demands, including Ukraine ceding full control of its Donetsk region.

In its latest overnight barrage on Ukraine, Russia launched a number of drones and missiles. The attacks killed at least seven civilians, including children, with more than a dozen injured across the country in the early hours of Wednesday, Mr Zelenskyy said in a post on X. Ten regions came under attack, including the capital of Kyiv, Odesa in the south and Dnipro in the east, with energy infrastructure and many residential buildings hit, Ukraine's President said.

“Russian words about diplomacy mean nothing as long as the Russian leadership doesn’t feel critical problems,” Mr Zelenskyy said. He called for stronger sanctions on Moscow and delivery of long-range weapons to Ukraine to bring an end to the war closer.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow on Wednesday. He suggested Russia should stick to its maximalist demands in Ukraine. EPA

Mr Lavrov said an immediate ceasefire would mean "preserving the Nazi regime" in Ukraine.

Mr Zelenskyy will visit Brussels and London this week after meetings in Norway and Sweden on Wednesday.

Mr Zelenskyy met Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store in the military part of Oslo's international airport Gardermoen. The leaders were to "discuss energy", a Ukrainian official said before their meeting began.

EU leaders are set to close ranks in support of Ukraine at a summit in Brussels on Thursday, followed a day later by a "coalition of the willing" meeting in London to discuss the next steps to help Kyiv.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has “no plans” to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in person, the White House said.

Mr Trump last week said he would meet Mr Putin “within two weeks” in Budapest for talks aimed at resolving the war in Ukraine, although a date had not been set. Hungarian President Viktor Orban was set to host the negotiations. The latest development follows a call between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Mr Lavrov.

“Secretary Rubio and Foreign Minister Lavrov had a productive call” a White House official said. “Therefore, an additional-in-person meeting between the Secretary and Foreign Minister is not necessary. And there are no plans for President Trump to meet with President Putin in the immediate future.”

Mr Trump added he did not want to hold a "wasted" meeting with Mr Putin.