Vice President JD Vance warned on Wednesday that the United States would "walk away" unless Russia and Ukraine agree a peace deal, as envoys from Washington, Kyiv and European nations gathered for downgraded talks in Britain.
"We've 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," Vance told reporters in India.
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. The reports said the proposal was first raised at a meeting with European nations in Paris last week.
But French President Emmanuel Macron's office told AFP that "Ukraine's territorial integrity and European aspirations are very strong requirements for Europeans." The latest round of diplomacy comes after a fresh wave of Russian air strikes that shattered a brief Easter truce.
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 on Wednesday. Ukrainian authorities also reported strikes in the regions of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Poltava and Odesa.
In light of the attacks, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky called for an "immediate, full, and unconditional ceasefire." In Russia, one person was reported wounded by shelling in the Belgorod region.
