Despite the recent progress toward a U.S.-backed peace plan for Ukraine, the negotiations will risk stalling or collapsing as Russia's unchanged maximalist demands and unresolved disputes over security guarantees and territorial concessions continue to block a durable settlement. On Dec. 28, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met U.S. President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Florida to advance negotiations on a peace plan aimed at ending the war with Russia. Both leaders held a joint press conference and reported substantial progress, with Zelensky stating the plan was "90% agreed" and U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine "100% agreed." Trump said the parties were "very close" to a peace deal, though "thorny" issues remained, particularly over territorial questions such as the Donbas, the region of eastern Ukraine comprising Donetsk and Luhansk provinces. On Dec. 29, Zelensky added that the United States was currently offering security guarantees to Ukraine for 15 years, but Kyiv wants...
