Ukraine has relinquished its ambition of joining the NATO military alliance in exchange for Western security guarantees as a compromise to end the war with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said ahead of talks with U.

The president said he had exchanged “pretty strong words” with European leaders, while Russia signaled it saw itself as increasingly on the same page as the U.S.

Ukraine and its allies are scrambling to keep Trump onside as the U.S. piles pressure on Kyiv to make a peace deal.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces shot down at least 287 Ukrainian drones overnight into Thursday morning.

The Ukrainian leader said Thursday that there was still no common understanding on the land issue and that Ukrainians should vote on any territorial concessions in a referendum.

After almost four years of Russia's full-scale war, Kyiv is running out of cash, and needs an estimated €135.7bn over the next two years.

The European Union on Friday indefinitely froze Russia’s assets in Europe to ensure that Hungary and Slovakia, both with Moscow-friendly governments, can’t prevent the billions of euros from being used to support Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he is ready to give up on demands for Nato membership in exchange for security guarantees from the US and Europe, in a move aimed at advancing peace talks in Berlin on Sunday.

Ukraine's president says territory and control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power remain unresolved issues in a peace plan.