A firefighter battles a blaze in an apartment block, set by Russian attacks, Kyiv, September 28, 2025

EA on International Outlets: Ukraine and Europe Counter Trump-Kremlin Ultimatum

Monday’s Coverage: Kyiv-Europe Counter-Proposal to Trump-Kremlin Ultimatum

UPDATE 0718 GMT:

US Army Secretary and investment banker Dan Driscoll, a close ally of Vice President J.D. Vance, is reportedly holding closed-door meetings with Russian representatives in Abu Dhabi in the UAE.

Sources say the first discussion took place on Monday night, with another round scheduled for Tuesday.

Ukraine was reportedly informed about the discussions. Sources say Driscoll may meet Ukraine’s military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov.

UPDATE 0710 GMT:

The toll in Kyiv from Russia’s missile and drone strikes has risen to six civilians murdered and nine injured.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Responding to a European proposal to end the Kremlin’s 46-month full-scale invasion, Russia has launched missile and drone strikes across Ukraine.

At least one civilian in Kyiv was murdered and seven injured as the Russians targeted residential neighborhoods and energy infrastructure.

Explosions were reported around 1 a.m. and then repeatedly throughout the next hour. In the Pecherskyi district, several multistory residential buildings were set ablaze. One of the targets was a 22-story apartment block, which sustained damage to multiple floors.

The fatality was in a 9-story residential building in the Dniprovskyi district. Rescue workers are searching for victims who may be trapped.

Outside the capital, the Russians targeted homes and apartments in the Kyiv region, triggering emergency evacuations. Four houses in the town of Bila Tserkva were “completely destroyed”, and a 14-year-old was injured.

Strikes were also reported in the Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv regions.

Hours before the assault, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky warned:

We must also be aware that Russia will not ease the pressure on us, on Ukraine, on our people….

We understand exactly who we are dealing with….And it would be fair for all our partners — and above all for the American side — to take into account the threat that…if we are really ending the war, then there should be no missiles, no massive strikes on Ukraine, on our people.

Zelensky: “There Must Be No Missiles on Ukraine”

On Sunday, following talks in Geneva, the European delegation set out a counter-proposal to the 28-point Trump-Kremlin ultimatum.

The plan begins with a ceasefire based on the current frontlines. In contrast, the Trump-Kremlin document only provides for a ceasefire after Russian conditions are accepted, including Ukraine’s handover of the remainder of the Donetsk region in the east of the country.

The Europeans do not rule out Ukrainian membership of NATO, although there is no consensus at this time. Ukraine’s armed forces will be capped during peacetime at 800,000 personnel, 200,000 more than in the Trump-Kremlin draft.

Frozen Russian assets will be used solely to reconstruct Ukraine, rather than the Trump-Kremlin guarantee of the US taking 50% of the profits. If Russia respects a “sustainable peace”, international sanctions will be gradually eased and Moscow will return to the G8 nations.

Zelensky said in his nightly address to the nation:

Ukraine will never be an obstacle to peace – this is our principle, a shared principle, and millions of Ukrainians are counting on, and deserve, a dignified peace. We will do everything for this, and we are ready to work as quickly as possible.

He added a message for the Trump Administration:

It would be fair for all our partners – especially for the American side – to take into account the threat that their own intelligence also sees. If there are negotiations, if there is constructive engagement, if we are truly ending the war – then there must be no missiles, no massive strikes on Ukraine, on our people.