'Decisions on territories are for Ukraine to take' says EU's von der Leyen after peace talks in Berlin

EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday (December 15) that talks in Berlin with European leaders and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy marked “real and concrete progress” toward ending the war in Ukraine and that alignment between Kyiv, Washington and Europe was key to achieving "lasting peace that preserves Ukraine’s sovereignty".

AI Brief

Von der Leyen calls for support after EU leaders meet to reinforce US-Ukraine peace efforts.
US negotiators told Kyiv it must pull forces from Donetsk in any deal to end the war.
Trump pressures Ukraine to make concessions to Russia amid ongoing negotiations.

Von der Leyen made the comments via a short video address after European leaders met to back up peace talks between U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators seeking to end the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War Two.

U.S. negotiators told Ukraine separately on Monday that it must agree to withdraw forces from the eastern Donetsk region under any deal to end the nearly four-year-old war with Russia, an official familiar with the matter said.

Kyiv is under intense pressure from Trump to make concessions to Russia.