Zelenskyy will hold urgent talks with 30 countries as Trump pushes for swift peace deal with Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy convened urgent video talks with leaders from about 30 countries in a “Coalition of the Willing”—including Germany, Britain and France—to coordinate a unified response as U.S. President Donald Trump presses for a swift peace plan that could cede Ukrainian territory; European governments are seeking to shape any settlement and clarify what concessions Kyiv might consider. The talks come as negotiations reach a critical crossroads: Russia has told Washington it has submitted additional proposals on collective-security guarantees, European leaders are pushing to finalize joint proposals with the U.S., and Western officials worry that rushed deadlines could force unfavorable compromises. At the same time Ukraine demonstrated deep-strike capability—hitting a Lukoil oil rig in the Caspian Sea (about 1,000 km away) and halting output from over 20 wells, and mounting a large drone attack that disrupted flights at four Moscow airports for seven hours while Russia reported intercepting 287 drones—actions that could strengthen Kyiv’s leverage but also further complicate diplomacy.

Analysis

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy convened urgent video talks with leaders from about 30 countries in a "Coalition of the Willing," including Germany, Britain and France, after officials said the meeting was hastily arranged to avoid being boxed in by U.S. President Donald Trump's push for a swift peace plan that may require territorial concessions. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron have proposed coordinating proposals with U.S. officials over the weekend and potentially meeting in Berlin next week, highlighting the central negotiation issue: which territories and concessions Kyiv might accept.

Russia signaled engagement by telling Washington it has submitted additional proposals on collective-security guarantees, a move framed domestically as European obstruction to a settlement; European leaders say negotiations are at a critical crossroads ahead of bilateral talks and an EU summit next week. The diplomatic timetable and competing agendas (Trump’s hard deadlines versus European caution and Putin’s posture) create acute policy and sanctioning uncertainty.

Militarily, Ukraine demonstrated deep-strike capability by hitting a Lukoil oil rig in the northern Caspian Sea, halting extraction from over 20 wells, and mounting a large drone attack that forced closures at four Moscow airports while Russia reported intercepting 287 drones. Those strikes increase Kyiv’s leverage but raise escalation risk and short-term disruption to energy flows, consistent with the moderately negative sentiment and a market-impact score indicating heightened volatility, particularly in energy and defense-related markets.

Key Decisions for Investors

• Reduce near-term exposure to Europe-facing energy and transport sectors and consider short-dated hedges against energy-price spikes given the Lukoil rig strike and airport disruptions
• Monitor the Coalition of the Willing talks, the proposed Berlin meetings and next week's EU summit closely; treat failure to reach a coordinated, constrained settlement as a trigger to increase geopolitical hedges or de-risk regional equities
• Consider selective, size-conservative exposure to defense contractors and energy-security names if negotiations stall and military strikes escalate, using options to cap downside