White House ramps up pressure on Ukraine as London peace talks falter

US President Donald Trump and his Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday warned that Washington might abandon negotiations between Russia and Ukraine unless the two warring sides reach a peace deal.

Trump said in a Truth Social post that a deal was "very close" but that Zelensky's refusal to accept US terms for ending the conflict – which began with Russia's invasion – "will do nothing but prolong the 'killing field'".

Speaking to reporters in India, Vance  said that Washington has “issued a very explicit proposal to both the Russians and the Ukrainians, and it's time for them to either say 'yes', or for the United States to walk away from this process".

US media reported that President Donald Trump was ready to accept recognition of annexed land in Crimea as Russian territory, and Vance said land swaps would be fundamental to any deal.

"That means the Ukrainians and the Russians are both going to have to give up some of the territory they currently own," he added.

Trump and Vance’s comments came as lower-level envoys from Washington, Kyiv and European nations wrapped up talks in Britain.

In a post on social media platform X, Zelensky said the meeting in London had been marked by emotions and expressed hope that future joint work would lead to peace.

Zelensky also pledged Ukraine would always abide by its constitution and said he believed Ukraine’s Western partners, including the US would act will "act in line with its strong decisions".

The latest round of diplomacy comes amid a fresh wave of Russian air strikes that shattered a brief Easter truce.

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A Russian drone strike on a bus transporting workers in the southeastern city of Marganets killed nine people and wounded at least 30 more, the Dnipropetrovsk regional governor said Wednesday.

On Thursday, Russia launched a missile attack on Kyiv, killing at least nine and wounding dozens. Of these, "38 of them, including six children, were hospitalised", Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said, adding that the rest of the wounded were treated at the scene.

Ukrainian authorities also reported strikes in the regions of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Poltava and Odesa.

In Russia, one person was reported wounded by shelling in the Belgorod region.

'Work for peace'

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy had been due to lead a meeting of foreign ministers in London on Wednesday, but his ministry said the talks had been downgraded, a sign of the difficulties surrounding the negotiations.

"The Ukraine Peace Talks meeting with Foreign Ministers today is being postponed. Official-level talks will continue," the Foreign Office said.

Ukraine peace talks in London collapse as Russian drone attack kills nine

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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that "as far as we understand, it has not yet been possible to reconcile positions on any issues, which is why this meeting did not take place".

US Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg is still expected to attend, along with Emmanuel Bonne, diplomatic adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron.

Andriy Yermak, a top aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said he had arrived in London with Defence Minister Rustem Umerov and Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga, who is "likely" to meet Lammy.

"Despite everything, we will work for peace," Yermak wrote on Telegram.

A Ukraine presidency source later told AFP that the delegation would meet with Kellogg, and that "there will be more meetings with Europeans, different meetings".

US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff is to visit Moscow this week.

Read moreA trap? Behind Putin’s change of heart on direct talks with Ukraine

According to The Financial Times, President Vladimir Putin told Witkoff he was prepared to halt the invasion and freeze the current front line if Russia's sovereignty over the Crimean Peninsula, annexed in 2014, was recognised.

Peskov responded by saying that "a lot of fakes are being published at the moment", according to the RIA Novosti news agency.

Zelensky said Tuesday that his country would be ready for direct talks with Russia only after a ceasefire, though the Kremlin has said it cannot rush into a ceasefire deal.

Trump promised on the campaign trail to strike a deal between Moscow and Kyiv in 24 hours but has since failed to secure concessions from Putin to halt his troops in Ukraine.

He said at the weekend he hoped an agreement could be struck "this week".

Trump 'frustrated'

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he had presented a US plan to end the war and discussed it with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov during a phone conversation after the Paris meeting last week.

Both Rubio and Trump have warned since that the United States could walk away from peace talks unless it saw quick progress.

Trump "wants to see this war end ... and he has grown frustrated with both sides of this war, and he's made that very known", his spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday.

Rubio had said in Paris he would go to London if he thought his attendance could be useful.

But Lammy wrote on X late Tuesday that he had instead had a "productive call" with Rubio.

Trump proposed an unconditional ceasefire in March, the principle of which was accepted by Kyiv but rejected by Putin.

The White House welcomed a separate agreement by both sides to halt attacks on energy infrastructure for 30 days, but the Kremlin has said it considers that moratorium to have expired.

(FRANCE 24 with Reuters and AFP)