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- Ukrainian President Zelenskyy resumed peace talks with U.S. envoys in Berlin Monday.
- Ukraine may drop NATO ambitions for Western security guarantees but faces internal opposition.
- European leaders meet amid U.S. criticism; EU considers financing Ukraine with frozen Russian assets.
BERLIN — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy resumed talks with President Donald Trump's envoys in Berlin on Monday, after the U.S. side said a "lot of progress" had been made on ending Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two.
Zelenskyy again met U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner after five hours of talks on Sunday, with other European leaders also holding meetings in the German capital throughout the day.
Ukraine said on Sunday it was willing to drop its ambition to join the NATO alliance in exchange for Western security guarantees. But it was not immediately clear how far talks had progressed on that or other vital issues, such as the future of Ukrainian territory, and how much the talks in Berlin could persuade Russia to agree to a ceasefire.
Zelenskyy said in a post on X "there is a great deal of work under way on the diplomatic track right now" but did not divulge details. His office later said the talks had ended.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Ukraine not joining NATO was a fundamental question in talks on a possible peace settlement. He said Russia expected an update from the U.S. after the negotiations in Berlin.
Ukrainians oppose major concessions, poll shows
Zelenskyy is walking a difficult line, under pressure from Trump to agree to a deal but also needing something acceptable to the Ukrainian people.
Underscoring the challenge he faces, a poll published on Monday showed three-quarters of Ukrainians reject major concessions in any peace deal.
The poll, by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, found that 72% of Ukrainians were prepared for a deal that froze the current front line and contained some compromises.
However, 75% believed a Russia-friendly plan that included Ukraine ceding territory or capping the size of its army without receiving clear security guarantees was "completely unacceptable".
Just 21% of Ukrainians trust Washington, the poll showed, down from 41% last December. Trust in NATO also fell to 34% from 43% over the same period.
"If security guarantees are not unambiguous and binding... Ukrainians will not trust them, and this will affect the general readiness to approve the corresponding peace plan," wrote KIIS executive director Anton Hrushetskyi.
European diplomacy faces crucial week
Monday's talks come at the start of a pivotal week for Europe, with an EU summit on Thursday set to decide whether it can underwrite a massive loan to Ukraine with frozen Russian central bank assets.
Europe has come under fire from Washington over its policies on migration, security and regulating big tech. The European Union and national governments have struggled to find a unified response to the U.S. criticism.
EU foreign ministers met in Brussels on Monday to agree on new sanctions targeting the Russian shadow fleet of oil tankers, although the possibility of an 11th-hour hitch to agreeing an EU trade deal with Latin America threatens to further undermine their attempts to put on a show of strength.
"The most important thing for us is now to ensure we can finance Ukraine," said Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen.
"We must take a decision to ensure Ukraine is in a position to continue its freedom fight and to show the rest of the world that Europe is a strong player. Otherwise, we will give in to the picture painted by the American president, that Europe is weak."
Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who has been closely involved in the Ukraine talks and met Zelenskyy on Monday, sounded a tentatively hopeful note, telling Dutch TV programme Buitenhof: "...we're probably closer to a peace agreement than we have been at any time during these four years".
Stubb said the sides were working on three main documents - the framework of a 20-point peace plan, one relating to security guarantees for Kyiv, and a third on reconstruction of Ukraine.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and the leaders of Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden are among those expected in the German capital on Monday.
Contributing: Anne Kauranen, Olena Harmash, Lili Bayer, Bart H. Meijer and Dan Peleschuk
