Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany on February 14, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AP

Ukraine’s President spoke optimistically about the progress of revising the Trump administration’s peace plan, saying “it looks better” and the work will continue during talks on how to end Russia’s nearly four-year war.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke after meeting with France’s President on Monday (December 1, 2025), the latest in discussions aimed at brokering the terms for a potential ceasefire in the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II.

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin would meet with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff on Tuesday. Witkoff’s role came under scrutiny last week following a report that he coached Putin’s foreign affairs adviser on how Russia’s leader should pitch to Trump on the Ukraine peace plan.

Mr. Zelenskyy’s visit to Paris followed Sunday’s meeting between Ukrainian and U.S. officials, which Secretary of State Marco Rubio described as productive. The two sides have worked to revise the proposed US-authored plan that was developed in negotiations between Washington and Moscow but criticised as being too weighted toward Russian demands.

The Kremlin late Monday boasted of Russia’s battlefield gains ahead of the talks, claiming Moscow’s troops have captured the key city of Pokrovsk in the eastern Donetsk region. According to Mr. Peskov, Mr. Putin received a report about Pokrovsk’s capture on Sunday.

Mr. Zelenskyy, however, said in Paris that fighting was still ongoing in Pokrovsk on Monday.

Mr. Zelenskyy called the topic of Ukraine’s control over its territories “the most complicated” in discussions over the plan.

French President Emmanuel Macron said talks are still in a “preliminary phase” but called the flurry of diplomatic activity “a moment that could be a turning point” for the future of peace in Ukraine and security in Europe.

After criticism from Ukraine and its European allies, President Donald Trump has downplayed his administration’s original 28-point peace framework, which would have imposed limits on the size of Ukraine’s military, blocked the country from joining NATO and required Ukraine to give up territory. He now calls it a “concept” to be “fine-tuned”.

The French leader said he wanted to praise the US peace efforts but insisted that any peace plan can “only be finalised with Europeans around the table”.

Last week, Mr. Macron urged Western allies to bring “rock-solid” security guarantees to Ukraine in case a ceasefire or a peace deal is be reached. He has endorsed deploying a “reassurance force” on land, at sea and in the air to help ensure the country’s security.

The French president said Monday that the coming days will see “crucial discussions” between US officials and Western partners, who would aim to clarify U.S. participation in security guarantees.

Mr. Macron’s office said he and Mr. Zelenskyy held talks with other European partners including leaders from Britain, Germany, Poland, Italy, Norway, Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands. Also included were European Union officials Antonio Costa and Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.

Mr. Macron and Mr. Zelenskyy also had phone calls with Mr. Witkoff, Mr. Macron’s office said.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on Monday expressed concern that the U.S.-Russia talks might end up with Ukraine having to make more concessions, like being pressured to surrender territory.

“I’m afraid that all the pressure will be put on the victim,” Ms. Kallas told reporters in Brussels after chairing a meeting of EU foreign and defense ministers.

The Kremlin released footage of Putin in military fatigues, meeting with top military officials on Sunday evening at an unidentified military command post.

Russia’s General Staff chief, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, reported to Putin that the Russian troops have taken full control of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region — Russia uses the old Soviet name of the city, Krasnoarmeysk — and the city of Vovchansk in the Kharkiv region.

Col. Gen. Valery Solodchuk added that Russian forces were still battling “the remaining small enemy groups” in Pokrovsk.

There were no immediate comments from Ukrainian officials on the claim, which could not be independently verified.

Pokrovsk sits along the eastern front line in part of what has been dubbed the “fortress belt” of Donetsk. The line of heavily fortified cities is crucial to Ukraine’s defense of the region, including Kramatorsk, Sloviansk and Druzhkivka.

Speaking to reporters in Paris, Mr. Zelenskyy also rejected Russia’s earlier claim of capturing the city of Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region. The Ukrainian leader said that Kyiv’s troops “cleared out” almost all of Russian forces in Kupiansk.

In the footage, Mr. Putin insisted that the Russian troops “are increasing pressure along the entire front line” and “along the entire line of contact, the initiative is entirely in the hands of our Armed Forces”.

The Kremlin on Monday also condemned Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil infrastructure over the weekend, including an attack on an oil terminal owned by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, or CPC, and another that targeted two tankers in Turkish waters.

A major oil terminal near the port of Novorossiysk halted operations Saturday after a strike by unmanned boats damaged one of its three mooring points, according to a statement from CPC, which owns the terminal. It came a day after Ukrainian naval drones struck two oil tankers in the Black Sea that were reported to be part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” that evade sanctions.

Ukraine confirmed on Saturday it carried out the attacks.

Mr. Peskov described both incidents as “outrageous” and noted of the CPC terminal that “we’re talking about an international facility”.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Russian forces had destroyed 32 Ukrainian drones overnight. The drones were shot down over 11 Russian regions, as well as the Sea of Azov, the ministry said.

An apartment block was damaged during a Ukrainian attack on the city of Kaspiysk in Russia’s Dagestan region, local Gov. Sergei Melikov said. Located on the shore of the Caspian Sea close to Russia’s border with Azerbaijan, the city is more than 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) from the front line.

A Russian missile strike around midday Monday killed four people and wounded 40 others, 11 critically, in the eastern city of Dnipro, according to the head of regional administration Vladyslav Haivanenko.

The strike hit the city center, damaging four residential high-rises, an educational facility and the storage facility of a humanitarian organisation, said Mayor Borys Filatov, adding that search and rescue operations were ongoing.

Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia had fired 89 strike and decoy drones overnight Sunday before the attack on Dnipro, of which 63 drones were shot down or jammed.

Overall in November, Russia fired 100 missiles of various types and 9,588 reconnaissance and strike drones into Ukraine, according to the Air Force’s monthly report published Monday.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during the 61st Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany on February 15, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday (February 15, 2025) the time has come for the creation of an “armed forces of Europe” and says his country’s fight against Russia has proved that a foundation for it already exists.

The Ukrainian leader said Europe cannot rule out the possibility that “American might say no to Europe on issues that threaten it,” and noted that many leaders have long spoken about how Europe needs its own military.

“I really believe that time has come,” Mr. Zelenskyy told the Munich Security Conference. “The armed forces of Europe must be created.”

Earlier, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz shot back strongly in defense of his stance against the far-right and said his country won’t accept people who “intervene in our democracy,” a day after U.S. Vice President JD Vance scolded European leaders over their approach to democracy.

The German leader spoke at the Munich Security Conference with just eight days before crucial elections in Germany, with polls showing the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party — whose co-leader met with Vance on Friday — currently in second, ahead of Scholz’s own Social Democrats.

Even while lashing out at alleged U.S. meddling in Germany’s democracy, Scholz said he was “pleased” at what he called a shared commitment with the United States to the “preserving the sovereign independence of Ukraine,” and agreed with comments by U.S. President Donald Trump that Russia’s war in Ukraine must end.

But when it came to domestic politics, Scholz also alluded to Germany’s Nazi past, and said the longstanding commitment to “Never Again” — a return to the extreme right — was not reconcilable with support for AfD.

“We will not accept that people who look at Germany from the outside intervene in our democracy and our elections and in the democratic opinion-forming process in the interest of this party,” he said. “That’s just not done, certainly not amongst friends and allies. We resolutely reject this.”

“Where our democracy goes from here is for us to decide,” Scholz added.

A day earlier, Vance that he fears free speech is “in retreat” across the continent.

He said that many Americans saw in Europe “entrenched interests hiding behind ugly Soviet-era words like misinformation and disinformation, who simply don’t like the idea that somebody with an alternative viewpoint might express a different opinion or, God forbid, vote a different way, or even worse, win an election.”

Scholz, shooting back, said “free speech in Europe means that you are not attacking others in ways that are against legislation and laws we have in our country.” He was alluding to rules in Germany that restrict hate speech.

The exchanges came as European leaders have been trying to make sense of a tough new line from Washington on issues including democracy and Ukraine’s future, as the Trump administration continues to upend transatlantic conventions that have been in place since after World War II.

Trump held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week in which he said the two leaders would likely meet soon to negotiate a peace deal to end the war that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago. Trump later assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that he, too, would have a seat at the table.

The Ukrainian leader said Friday that his country wants security guarantees before any talks with Russia. Shortly before meeting with Vance in Munich, Zelenskyy said he will only agree to meet in-person with Putin after a common plan is negotiated with Trump.

After a 40-minute meeting with Zelenskyy, Vance said the Trump administration wants the war to end.

Beforehand, Vance lectured European officials on free speech and illegal migration on the continent, warning that they risk losing public support if they don’t quickly change course.

“The threat that I worry the most about vis-à-vis Europe is not Russia. It’s not China. It’s not any other external actor,” Vance said in a speech that drew a tepid response. “What I worry about is the threat from within — the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America.”

On the sidelines of the event, Vance met with Alice Weidel, co-leader of AfD.

Mainstream German parties say they won’t work with the party, a longstanding stance to shun the extreme right in a country scarred by Nazism.

Vance later headed back to Washington.

Among other speakers set to take the dais in Munich on Saturday were NATO chief Mark Rutte and foreign ministers from countries including Canada, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia and from Syria’s new interim government.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Ukraine’s parliament cancelled a session on Friday (November 22, 2024) as security was tightened after Russia deployed a new ballistic missile that threatened to escalate the nearly three-year war.

NATO and Ukraine will hold emergency talks next Tuesday (November 26), the alliance said, following a request from Ukraine. The meeting will be held at the level of ambassadors and will most likely address the new missile threat.

Russian troops also struck Sumy with Shahed drones overnight, killing two people and injuring 12 more, the regional administration said Friday morning. The attack targeted a residential district of the city.

Ukraine’s Suspilne media, quoting Sumy regional head Volodymyr Artiukh, said the Russians used Shaheds stuffed with shrapnel elements for the first time in the region. “These weapons are used to destroy people, not to destroy objects,” said Mr. Artiukh, according to Suspilne.

Separately, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky arrived on a visit to Kyiv. He posted a photo from Kyiv’s railway station on his X account Friday morning.

“I am interested in how the Ukrainians are coping with the bombings, how Czech projects are working on the ground and how to better target international aid in the coming months. I will discuss all of this here,” Lipavsky wrote.

Three Ukrainian lawmakers confirmed that the parliamentary session previously scheduled was cancelled due to the ongoing threat of Russian missile attacks targeting government buildings in the city centre.

Not only is the parliament closed, “there was also a recommendation to limit the work of all commercial offices and NGOs that remain in that perimeter, and local residents were warned of the increased threat,” said lawmaker Mykyta Poturaiev, who added this is not the first time such a threat has been received.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office continued to work in compliance with standard security measures, a spokesperson said.

Russia on Thursday fired a new intermediate-range ballistic missile in response to Kyiv’s use of U.S. and British longer-range missiles capable of striking deeper into Russian territory, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an address on Thursday.

It struck a missile factory in Dnipro in central Ukraine. Putin warned that US air defence systems would be powerless to stop the new missile, which he said flies at 10 times the speed of sound and which he called Oreshnik — Russian for hazelnut tree.

Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate also released details. It said the missile was fired from the 4th Missile Test Range “Kapustin Yar” in Russia’s Astrakhan region, and flew 15 minutes before striking Dnipro. The missile had six warheads each carrying six submunitions. The peak speed the missile reached was 11 Machs.

Test launches of a similar missile were conducted at the range in October 2023 and June 2024, the directorate said.

The Pentagon confirmed that Russia’s missile was a new, experimental type of intermediate-range missile based on its RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks at a press conference in Kyiv on August 24, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pitched for greater cooperation with India in high-end technologies across several areas such as agriculture, cybersecurity and defence, stressing co-production of drones, electronic warfare systems, among others. He said he discussed these during talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

At a press interaction, Mr. Zelenskyy said Ukraine had increased the level of its private companies, specially in areas such as drones, sea drones and cybersecurity. “And I said to PM, we will be very ready to share with you these products and we will be happy if it can be co-production, and we decided that our teams will begin to work on different issues. During war, I think this is very important as we need to strengthen war economy… Of course we need win-win between our nations.”

Editorial | Not taking sides: On Prime Minister Modi’s Ukraine visit

Elaborating on the different high-end technologies in response to a question from The Hindu, he said, “It’s about agriculture, de-mining, medicine, security such as drones, electronic warfare systems, it’s a lot, its connections… against cyber attacks. We are ready to speak about it, ready to speak about sea drones, a lot of different technologies. We had good agreements before the war. We are open with all of this and we are ready to co-produce for both our markets.”

“Of course we can do more after the war as today the priority is defending ourselves,” he noted. “But we are ready to begin this work, war will finish anyway and we know it…”

India operates a large inventory of military equipment of both Russian and Ukrainian origin. Following the war in Ukraine, India has seen supplies and spares held up for sometime. As a result, Indian armed forces attempted to diversify and reduce dependence by turning to domestic companies as well as seeking alternative vendor base in other countries.

Some joint ventures between Ukraine manufacturers and Indian private sector are in the works to produce some of the spares as well as carry out maintenance in India.

On defence cooperation, the joint statement issued after the talks underlined the importance of defence cooperation between the two leaders and said they agreed to continue to work towards facilitating a stronger relationship between the defence entities in both countries, including “through joint collaborations and partnerships for manufacturing in India and cooperation in emerging areas”. The sides agreed to hold the second meeting of the Indian-Ukrainian Joint Working Group on Military-Technical Cooperation, established under the 2012 Defence Cooperation Agreement, in the near future in India.

Focus on agriculture

There is considerable focus on agriculture and pharmaceuticals in the talks as reflected in the joint statement and the agreements signed. One of the four agreements signed was on cooperation in the fields of agriculture and food industry. The objective of the agreement is to expand mutually beneficial cooperation in these areas by promoting ties in areas of information exchange, joint scientific research, exchange of experience, cooperation in agricultural research and creation of joint working groups.

“Agriculture is not only about growing but we can also think about hubs, how to save and secure agricultural hubs during long periods of time,” Mr. Zelenskyy said.

In the recent past, Mr. Zelenskyy had made a pitch for co-production with other countries too as Ukraine needs large amounts of arms and ammunition as the war is in the third year. “Our priority is the development of defence production using modern technologies, including the production of shells, missiles, and drones in Ukraine, in cooperation with global leaders in this field,” he posted on X last year.

“During the meeting with representatives of defence companies and associations from the U.S., the U.K., Germany, France, Türkiye, Sweden, and the Czech Republic, we discussed the prospects for partnership and joint arms production,” he had said, adding that Ukraine was ready to offer special conditions to companies willing to work together with the country in the defence production sector.

New Delhi:

Two days ahead of his crucial visit to Ukrainian capital Kyiv, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said he was looking forward to sharing perspectives with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict.

The prime minister’s comments came shortly before he embarked on a two-nation trip to Poland and Ukraine. In the first leg of the visit, PM Modi is visiting Polish capital city Warsaw on August 21 and 22.

PM Modi will be in Kyiv for around seven hours on August 23 in the first visit by an Indian prime minister to Ukraine since the country became independent in 1991.

In a departure statement, PM Modi, referring to the Ukraine conflict, said that as a “friend and partner”, India hopes for an early return of peace and stability in the region.

“From Poland, I will be visiting Ukraine at the invitation of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. This is the first-ever visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Ukraine,” he said.

“I look forward to the opportunity to build upon earlier conversations with President Zelenskyy on strengthening bilateral cooperation and share perspectives on peaceful resolution of the ongoing Ukraine conflict,” he said.

“As a friend and partner, we hope for an early return of peace and stability in the region,” he added.

PM Modi said he was confident that his visit to Warsaw and Kyiv “will serve as a natural continuation of extensive contacts with the two countries and help create the foundation for stronger and more vibrant relations in the years ahead”.

The prime minister will travel to Kyiv from Poland in a ‘Rail Force One’ train that will take around 10 hours. The return trip will also be of the same duration.

A number of world leaders including US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Kyiv by train after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

PM Modi’s visit to Kyiv comes nearly six weeks after his high-profile trip to Moscow which triggered criticism from the US and some of its Western allies.

India has not yet condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and has been calling for resolution of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.

In his summit talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last month, PM Modi said that a solution to the Ukraine conflict is not possible on the battlefield and peace talks do not succeed amidst bombs and bullets.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Monday said PM Modi’s visit to Ukraine would be a “landmark and historic” one.

“Lasting peace can only be achieved through options that are acceptable to both parties. And it can only be a negotiated settlement,” said Tanmaya Lal, Secretary (West) in the MEA.

“On our part, India continues to engage with all stakeholders,” he said.

On his visit to Poland, PM Modi said he was looking forward to meeting Prime Minister Donald Tusk and President Andrzej Duda.

“My visit to Poland comes as we mark 70 years of our diplomatic relations. Poland is a key economic partner in Central Europe,” he said.

“Our mutual commitment to democracy and pluralism further reinforces our relationship. I look forward to meeting my friend Prime Minister Donald Tusk and President Andrzej Duda to further advance our partnership,” he said.

“I will also engage with the members of the vibrant Indian community in Poland,” PM Modi said.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Two days ahead of his crucial visit to Ukrainian capital Kyiv, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said he was looking forward to sharing perspectives with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict.

The prime minister’s comments came shortly before he embarked on a two-nation trip to Poland and Ukraine. In the first leg of the visit, PM Modi is visiting Polish capital city Warsaw on August 21 and 22.

PM Modi will be in Kyiv for around seven hours on August 23 in the first visit by an Indian prime minister to Ukraine since the country became independent in 1991.

In a departure statement, PM Modi, referring to the Ukraine conflict, said that as a “friend and partner”, India hopes for an early return of peace and stability in the region.

“From Poland, I will be visiting Ukraine at the invitation of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. This is the first-ever visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Ukraine,” he said.

“I look forward to the opportunity to build upon earlier conversations with President Zelenskyy on strengthening bilateral cooperation and share perspectives on peaceful resolution of the ongoing Ukraine conflict,” he said.

“As a friend and partner, we hope for an early return of peace and stability in the region,” he added.

PM Modi said he was confident that his visit to Warsaw and Kyiv “will serve as a natural continuation of extensive contacts with the two countries and help create the foundation for stronger and more vibrant relations in the years ahead”.

The prime minister will travel to Kyiv from Poland in a ‘Rail Force One’ train that will take around 10 hours. The return trip will also be of the same duration.

A number of world leaders including US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Kyiv by train after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

PM Modi’s visit to Kyiv comes nearly six weeks after his high-profile trip to Moscow which triggered criticism from the US and some of its Western allies.

India has not yet condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and has been calling for resolution of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.

In his summit talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last month, PM Modi said that a solution to the Ukraine conflict is not possible on the battlefield and peace talks do not succeed amidst bombs and bullets.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Monday said PM Modi’s visit to Ukraine would be a “landmark and historic” one.

“Lasting peace can only be achieved through options that are acceptable to both parties. And it can only be a negotiated settlement,” said Tanmaya Lal, Secretary (West) in the MEA.

“On our part, India continues to engage with all stakeholders,” he said.

On his visit to Poland, PM Modi said he was looking forward to meeting Prime Minister Donald Tusk and President Andrzej Duda.

“My visit to Poland comes as we mark 70 years of our diplomatic relations. Poland is a key economic partner in Central Europe,” he said.

“Our mutual commitment to democracy and pluralism further reinforces our relationship. I look forward to meeting my friend Prime Minister Donald Tusk and President Andrzej Duda to further advance our partnership,” he said.

“I will also engage with the members of the vibrant Indian community in Poland,” PM Modi said.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The Burgenstock hotel is pictured ahead of the Summit on Peace in Ukraine as seen from Lucerne, Switzerland on June 13, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

A 20 minutes drive from Lucerne, a key city in central Switzerland buzzing with tourists, is a heavenly resort nestled in the Alps and overlooking lake Luzern from high above. This largest integrated modern hotel resort in the country, rebuilt in 2014, has its roots dating back to the 18th century. It has played hosts to celebrities and world leaders. Jawaharlal Nehru and Jimmy Carter holidayed here; Audrey Hepburn tied the knot in a chapel here. The resort, at times, has played peacemaker, too.

The annual Bilderberg Meetings under Chatham House rules to foster dialogue between Europe and North America in the 1950s took off from here. Turkish and Greek Cypriots negotiators sat across the table in the resort in 2004 to discuss the issue of accession to the EU. These past few days residents here have been subjected to the constant whirring of helicopters as the lake resort gears up to welcome world leaders for the Summit on Peace in Ukraine on June 15-16.

A fractious meeting

Barbed wire, steel fencing, aerial reconnaissance, surveillance on the lake and some 4,000 troops deployed to seal off Burgenstock as it prepares to welcome dozens of world leaders, including Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European heads of governments and states who will fly in from the G-7 summit in Italy. An emergency communications centre to track cyber-threats and fake news aimed at derailing the conference is also in motion.

Between frequent bouts of sunshine and rains, the weather here is as erratic as the expectations of any concrete political outcomes from the summit. Of the 160 invitations sent out, some 90 countries and international organisations have confirmed their attendance, including several heads of states and governments. The conference aims to inspire a ‘future peace process’ framework building on a series of closed door consultations by numerous National Security Advisers in Jeddah, Malta and Davos, following the first Copenhagen meet in June 2023.

But the most notable absentee on the table raises doubts about what it can achieve. President Vladimir Putin of Russia has not been invited to the summit that will talk about the Russia-Ukraine war. Conspicuous in his absence will be U.S. President Joe Biden, who will be represented by Vice-President Kamala Harris and NSA Jake Sullivan. China has chosen to stay away. And so has Brazil, the current chair of G-20.

“This is like having an engagement party without one of the party getting engaged or a wedding without the bridegroom. Without the equal participation of Russia, this is not an initiative which can be sustained,” says retired diplomat Asoke Mukerji, who served as India’s Permanent Representative to the UN in New York.

Swiss Mediation

Language is not the only barrier to start conversations on the war and political turmoil in Europe with residents of Lucerne or strangers in coffee shops. The Swiss do not talk politics easily. An Irish woman who runs a coffee-cum-book store made Switzerland her home more than three decades ago. She says the Swiss believe in ‘neutrality’. “They (Swiss) are interested in politics and are keenly watching the summit. But they will not talk in the open and rather keep their political opinions to themselves since this is a neutral country.”

The sentiment is repeated by another young woman of Iranian descent when asked if she has Swiss friends who could speak to this journalist about the impact of the war in Ukraine.

Neutrality is a key principle of Switzerland’s foreign policy that refrains it from engaging or picking sides in a war. However, it promises to open up space for dialogue. “It is a generating source of peace and stability in Europe and beyond. It ensures the country’s independence and the inviolability of its territory. According to the law of neutrality, Switzerland must not participate in a war between states,” reads the charter. From Geneva Conference to the Evian Accords, Bern has played an important role as a stage for dialogue or mediator in several conflicts.

Swiss diplomats have facilitated standalone peace negotiations as well as through international organisations such as the UN and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in some 20 countries in recent years.

But Russia has said the Swiss are no longer neutral as they applied the ban on purchase and import of Russian diamonds as part of the 12th EU sanctions agreed to in the December 2023 G-7 summit, despite Switzerland not being a member of the European bloc.

Ironically, questions are also being asked about the open secret — Switzerland’s close ties with Russian oligarchs. Several powerful Russian business elites with close political ties to Mr. Putin control companies in Switzerland that provide crypto-asset services. A recent DW (Deutsche Welle) investigative documentary, titled ‘Switzerland — a haven for Russian money’, asks if the alpine nation is the the crack in the glass in stringent application of U.S.-led Western economic sanctions against team Putin.

The Burgenstock conference raises questions over Swiss neutrality with the omission of Mr. Putin from the talks which will see Mr. Zelenskyy in attendance drumming up support for his war-torn country after his whirlwind tour to other western capitals, including a two day Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin.

India’s messaging

The absence of its important strategic defence partner Russia in the room is also seen as the reason India has shied away from a high-level political representation despite Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba extending the invite to the top leadership during his New Delhi visit earlier in the year. Just last week, a day after Mr. Putin spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi following NDA’s election victory, Mr. Zelenskyy, too, dialled the PM. “We discussed the upcoming Global Peace Summit. We rely on India’s participation at the highest level. I also invited Prime Minister Modi to visit Ukraine at a convenient time,” he later wrote on X.

New Delhi has chosen instead to send Pavan Kapoor, India’s senior diplomat and Secretary West in the Ministry of External Affairs to the Swiss-led conference.

Switzerland is currently a non-permanent member of the Security Council for the first time since joining the UN in 2002 and wants to use its office for further engagement in peace policy. But the conference is likely to raise raise uncomfortable questions. “The Conference will have to take a position on why the only UN Security Council endorsed peace framework for Ukraine, which are the Minsk Agreements, are not being implemented,” Mr. Mukerji wrote in a recent article.

Smita Sharma is an independent journalist based in Delhi.

A prosecutor examines fragments of Russian missiles that were collected to investigate Russia’s military crimes in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on March 18, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Ukrainian forces facing a lack of munitions and manpower are digging in to resist Russian attack, mirroring the invaders’ strategy and showing Kyiv expects a drawn-out war.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last week that Kyiv’s troops were in an “ongoing process” of building around 2,000 kilometre of defensive lines.

Britain’s Defence Ministry said that the works included “anti-tank dragon’s teeth and ditches, infantry trenches, minefields and fortified defensive positions” in a post on X.

“The establishment of major defensive positions is indicative of the attritional character of the conflict… any attempt to conduct breaching operations will likely be accompanied with high losses,” the ministry added.

Built in 2023, Russia’s so-called “Surovikin Line” on occupied Ukrainian soil stalled Kyiv’s counteroffensive with its three layered defence in depth.

Such barriers are designed both to wear down enemy forces and prevent them holding ground even if they succeed in breaking through.

Also read: Russia systematically tortures Ukraine POWs, U.N. commission says

Ukraine’s version may be less elaborate and deep, but is needed to compensate for its ammunition shortage.

“Already, Ukrainian officials say that time is the key factor preventing them from building something resembling the… Surovikin line,” said Ivan Klyszcz, a researcher at Estonia’s International Centre for Defence and Security (ICDS).

“Ammunition scarcity and diminishing morale have placed Ukraine squarely on the defensive,” he added.

Minimal gains

Ukraine’s counteroffensive in the second half of 2023, planned with backing from allies including the U.S., left Kyiv with minimal territorial gains and heavy losses. As the war has dragged on, defenders’ advantage over attackers has become starker than in many previous conflicts.

Mr. Zelenskyy’s lines “are designed to maximise the cost of casualties and fatalities for the Russians,” said Seth Jones, vice president of U.S.-based think-tank CSIS.

But Alexander Khramchikhin, a Russian military expert, said it was “proof that Ukraine has realised its offensive failed,”.

“Their success will depend on their quality” and on how much the construction effort is hobbled by Ukraine’s still-endemic corruption, he added.

“Do they have the manpower to build and defend them?” asked Vasily Kashin, of Moscow’s Higher School of Economics.

“Russia’s army has already broken through stronger Ukrainian fortifications at Avdiivka,” he added, referring to the frontline town in eastern region of Donetsk that fell to the Russians in mid-February.

Kyiv may be bowing to the present realities of the conflict, but its objective remains liberating its territory in the eastern Donbas region and the Crimean peninsula, which Russia took in 2014.

Ukrainian leaders hope that as the war wears on, Western sanctions will hobble Russia’s ability to sustain the effort.

Meanwhile in Moscow, the hope is that Western military and financial aid to Ukraine will dry up.

Both sides’ conjectures point to the same strategy for now: holding ground.