The Collapse of Ukraine Peace Talks and the Fracturing of Western Unity

The breakdown of peace talks in London on April 23, 2025, meant to rally support for the Kellogg peace plan for Ukraine, marks a turning point in the Russia-Ukraine war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s flat-out rejection of the plan, backed by European pushback and a wobbly U.S. stance under President Donald Trump, has laid bare deep cracks in Western unity. This failure drags out the conflict and highlights the yawning gap between what Russia and Ukraine are willing to accept. It’s a moment that raises tough questions about where the West’s strategy goes from here and whether it can hold together at all. Drawing on the latest developments, this analysis digs into why the talks fell apart, the unrealistic stances of key players, and what this means for the global landscape.

Zelensky’s Defiance and the Kellogg Plan’s Demise

The Kellogg peace plan, pushed by U.S. negotiators like Keith Kellogg and Steve Witkoff, was a stab at compromise. It proposed Ukraine giving up claims to Crimea and parts of four eastern regions—Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson—in exchange for security guarantees and maybe some sanctions relief for Russia. But Zelensky threw cold water on it during a fiery speech on April 22, 2025. He demanded a no-strings ceasefire, the return of every inch of territory including Crimea, Russia’s surrender, reparations, and war crimes trials. Those are the pillars of his own peace plan, but they’re dead on arrival as far as Russia’s concerned.

Zelensky’s digging in his heels makes sense when you look at his situation at home. Signing onto the Kellogg plan would likely force elections in Ukraine, and he’s not exactly a shoo-in to win. Losing could end his political career and open him up to legal trouble. His stance plays well with Ukrainians who see it as standing tall, but it brushes off the hard truth: Ukraine has no realistic shot at retaking Crimea or the eastern regions. Failed offensives in 2022 and 2023 proved that, and the military gap’s only widened since.

European Resistance: Backing Ukraine Over Compromise

Here’s where it gets interesting—European leaders, usually in lockstep with the U.S., have sided with Zelensky against the Kellogg plan, exposing a real split in NATO’s ranks. Reports in the Financial Times capture Europe’s frustration at being left out of U.S.-Russia talks. Torsten Frei, a close ally of Germany’s incoming Chancellor Friedrich Merz, argued that letting Russia keep Crimea would reward Putin’s aggression and give him a green light to push further. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell doubled down, insisting “Crimea is Ukraine” and framing any concession as a betrayal of the so-called rules-based order.

“The Europeans are saying they won’t accept the Kellogg plan… but what exactly are they proposing instead? They’re not bringing anything to the table that could even get a hearing with the Russians.” — Alexander Mercouris

Europe’s rejection of the plan is loud, but it’s light on alternatives. Talk of a European peace plan or sending an envoy to deal with Moscow, like an idea floated by Spain’s Pedro Sánchez, has gone nowhere, bogged down by internal bickering and a reluctance to sit down with Russia. Instead, European leaders are sticking to the old playbook: more weapons, more intelligence support, tougher sanctions—basically the same approach the Biden administration tried, and it didn’t work then either. This ignores what’s happening on the ground, where Russia’s grinding forward, taking territory bit by bit, while Ukraine’s defenses are starting to buckle.