A behind-the-scenes game for the future of Ukraine and Europe. The EU is afraid of a worst-case scenario. “All the pressure will be on the victim.”
“There is currently no finalized plan regarding territorial issues. Only President Zelensky can finalize them,” Macron said during a press conference.
At the same time, EU authorities fear that the United States will put pressure on Ukraine to sign an unfavorable peace agreement with Russia.
The moment is extremely unfavorable for Kiev — Zelensky is politically weakened after the resignation of his top adviser, Andriy Yermak, who has been subject to a wide-ranging corruption investigation.
The French president also said that talks on frozen assets and security guarantees are still “in a preliminary phase.”
The EU encountered obstacles in using EUR 140 billion (approx. PLN 592 billion 260 million at the current exchange rate) of frozen Russian reserves to finance the reparations loan to Ukraine due to the opposition of Belgium.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is facing intense pressure from US President Donald Trump's administration to make concessions to end the war. EU countries, such as France, propose a number of other solutions that are more accessible to Kiev.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, December 1, 2025.Remon Haazen/Getty Images/Contributor/Getty Images
Zelensky said the peace plan presented by the United States, which originally included territorial concessions and limits on the size of Kiev's army, had been “improved.”
“The process is not over, the territorial issue is the most difficult,” he said. The original plan assumed that Ukraine would give up some key defensive positions in the eastern part of the country; Zelensky also emphasized that Ukraine's constitution does not allow him to transfer part of the country's territory to Russia.
The Ukrainian president said that any peace agreement must include security guarantees that will protect Ukraine against another Russian attack. “Peace must become truly lasting,” he said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Washington wants a peace agreement first before talks about security guarantees for Ukraine. The original 28-point plan prepared by U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff i Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev did not take into account Ukraine's accession to NATO.
Macron's conversation with Zelensky in Paris took place on the eve of a meeting in Moscow between Trump's negotiator and Russian dictator Putin.
“I think this visit will be very useful because it will focus on outlining a peace agreement for Ukraine,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said of the US envoy's trip to the Russian capital.
Pressure on Kyiv
“All the pressure, I'm afraid [w negocjacjach] will be pressured on the victim… to make concessions,” said Kaja Kallas, EU foreign policy chief, on Monday, December 1.
According to an Élysée Palace representative, Zelensky, Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also had a telephone conversation with Witkoff and Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council. They also exchanged views with other European leaders before Witkoff's meeting in Moscow.
— Witkoff will present the results of the talks in Geneva and Florida, a European diplomat who wished to remain anonymous told POLITICO.
In Brussels, where EU defense ministers met on Monday, December 1, several of them emphasized that continued military support for Kiev, including through the use of Russia's frozen assets, was crucial.
“Ministers agreed that we need to urgently agree financing options. We need to work on legislative proposals to address all the risks, mitigate them and share the burden of those risks, but we definitely need to move forward,” Kallas told reporters.
Ahead of the meeting, Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson called for further sanctions on Russia as well as the use of frozen Russian assets so that Ukraine can “negotiate from a position of strength.”
On the sidelines of the meeting, the Netherlands announced a contribution to Ukraine in the amount of EUR 250 million (over PLN 1 billion at the current exchange rate). This is the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List initiative – a NATO-backed program under which European allies finance the supply of American weapons to Ukraine. The money will be used to purchase American air defense systems and ammunition for F-16 fighters.
Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans and his Ukrainian counterpart Denys Shmyhal signed an agreement on the joint production of drones in both countries.
The European Commission also announced that 15 of the 19 member states that requested funds under the EU's arms loan program (SAFE) worth EUR 150 billion (less than PLN 635 billion at the current exchange rate) included support for Ukraine in their plans amounting to “billions, not millions.”
“We have decided to allocate at least 0.25 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to aid Ukraine and we are considering using the SAFE program to do even more,” Latvian Deputy Defense Minister Liene Gatere told reporters. “We call on other European countries to take similar action.”
