Ukraine peace deal momentum appears to grow as Russian strikes continue

French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that the peace efforts are gathering momentum and 'are clearly at a crucial juncture.'

A renewed U.S. push to end the war between Russia and Ukraine is gathering momentum, although some of the key issues remain unresolved, officials said Tuesday.

The update was issued hours after Russia launched a wave of overnight attacks on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, with at least seven people killed in strikes that hit city buildings and energy infrastructure. A Ukrainian attack on southern Russia killed three people and damaged homes, authorities said.

“Over the past week, the United States has made tremendous progress towards a peace deal by bringing both Ukraine and Russia to the table,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X.

“There are a few delicate, but not insurmountable, details that must be sorted out and will require further talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States.”

President Donald Trump’s plan for ending the nearly four-year war emerged last week. It heavily favored Russia, prompting Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to quickly engage with American negotiators. European leaders, fearing for their own future amid Russian aggression but apparently sidelined by Trump in drawing up the proposals, scrambled to steer the negotiations toward accommodating their concerns.

Senior U.S. and Ukrainian officials said progress was made at talks in Geneva held on Sunday toward ending the war.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday peace efforts are gathering momentum and “are clearly at a crucial juncture.”

“Negotiations are getting a new impetus. And we should seize this momentum,” he said during at a video conference meeting of countries, led by France and the U.K., that could help police any ceasefire with Russia.