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Ukrainian, European and American representatives continue talks on ending Russia's war on Ukraine. Europe and Ukraine are trying to counter U.S. proposals that demand sweeping concessions from Ukraine, including giving up territory and holding elections during wartime. NPR's Joanna Kakissis reports from Kyiv.
JOANNA KAKISSIS, BYLINE: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he will consider any peace proposals brokered by President Trump. So during the latest round of talks, Zelenskyy has been trying to address issues from several Trump teams, according to Oleksandr Kraiev.
OLEKSANDR KRAIEV: In this instance, we do see the volatility and chaotic nature of Trump administration. The negotiating teams have very different approaches.
KAKISSIS: Kraiev is the North America director of the Ukrainian Prism Foreign Policy Council in Kyiv.
KRAIEV: Because of this ever-changing nature of American diplomacy, Zelenskyy and his team is basically 24/7 working together with the Americans to make something work. And with Trump, well, you know, sometimes you've got to play along with Trump.
KAKISSIS: That's one reason why Zelenskyy says he is exploring ways to hold elections during wartime within the next 90 days.
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PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: "If this is something our key partner in Washington wants," Zelenskyy says, "we have to look into it." Trump said in a recent interview that Zelenskyy's government is using the war to avoid elections. Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, an opposition lawmaker in Ukraine's parliament, says these words echo those of the Kremlin.
IVANNA KLYMPUSH-TSINTSADZE: This conversation is happening because it's the Russian idea that has been put in the minds of the American administration. And right now, the American administration is pushing and pressuring Ukraine on this issue.
KAKISSIS: Ukraine's constitution actually forbids wartime elections, and public opinion polls show that most Ukrainians do not want them. Security is a major concern. Outside a market in central Kyiv, Yulia Hryp, who works in customer service, says she expects Russia to attack voting stations.
YULIA HRYP: It's very possible that they attack because they attack us every day. We'd have to gather many people in one place. It's dangerous.
KAKISSIS: Retired businessman Ihor Pasholok wonders how more than 4 million Ukrainian refugees abroad are going to vote or the nearly 1 million Ukrainians in the military.
IHOR PASHOLOK: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: "The soldiers will likely have to leave their posts to vote," he says, "so there has to be some kind of security measures in place in their absence." Zelenskyy says no elections can be held unless the U.S. and Europe can protect voters with security measures. But Vadym Polehenkyi, a civil engineering student, says he does not trust Trump.
VADYM POLEHENKYI: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: He says Trump seems close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, despite claiming earlier this year that Putin was bad. Zelenskyy says the U.S. now wants Ukraine to withdraw its troops from the eastern Donbas region and create a free economic zone in the parts Ukraine currently controls. Kraiev, the political analyst, says it may be similar to what Trump talked about doing in Gaza.
KRAIEV: This Gaza paradise or how it was called of constructing a hotel and luxury resort. So basically, it's the same idea, just to get Trump an illusion that something business like may be done there as soon as possible.
KAKISSIS: The business of peace, he says, is much more complicated.
Joanna Kakissis, NPR News, Kyiv. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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