EU drafts peace demands to force Russia's hand

THE European Union is drafting a list of concessions that it believes Russia must make to secure any long-term peace in Ukraine, the bloc's top diplomat said on Tuesday, as US-run talks to end four years of war show little sign of progress.

- LORNE COOK Associated Press

Russian forces used cluster munitions in an attack on a market in Ukraine killing seven, as envoys from Moscow and Kyiv met in Abu Dhabi last week for another round of US-brokered talks. No breakthrough was made, although a new prisoner swap was agreed.

After saying in 2024 that he could end the war in a day, then 100 days, US President Donald Trump has now given Ukraine and Russia until June to come to an agreement.

The EU is convinced that Russia is not negotiating seriously and it doubts that European and Ukrainian interests are being represented by the Trump administration, so work has begun on "a sustainable peace plan" that might force Moscow's hand. "We have just seen increased bombing by Russians during these talks," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said, including the targeting of Ukraine's electricity grid during what has been the coldest winter of the war.