PARIS - The European Commission president says "there cannot be unilateral carving up of a sovereign European nation", and that "Russia's mindset has not changed since Yalta".
Ursula von der Leyen was addressing European lawmakers on Wednesday as negotiations continue to try to end the war.
She said that there must be no redrawing borders by force, no limits on the size of Ukraine’s army, and an immediate return of all abducted Ukrainian children.
READ | EU chief vows to back Ukraine 'every step' until peace
Also on Wednesday, the German chancellor said while he welcomed Donald Trump’s attempts to end the war, insisted that “European affairs can only be decided in agreement with Europe".
Friedrich Merz said that Russia could end the war within minutes if it truly wanted it and it is the only aggressor in this conflict.
European foreign ministers also held an informal meeting on Wednesday to discuss the possible peace plans.
The EU’s top diplomat, the high representative for foreign affairs, Kaja Kallas, said that Vladimir Putin was “trying to negotiate an end to the Ukraine war as he cannot win it on the battlefield”.
“We still need to get from a situation where Russia pretends to negotiate to a situation where Russia needs to negotiate,” said Kallas.
The flurry of European Union diplomacy comes as the United States confirms that special envoy Steve Witkoff, who has been accused of allegedly working with Russia over the negotiations, will return to Moscow next week for further discussions with President Putin.
US representatives, including from President Trump’s own party, lashed out at reports that Steve Witkoff advised Russian officials how to secure their version of the peace plan and the best way to influence President Trump.
“It is clear that Witkoff fully favors the Russians,” wrote Don Bacon, a Republican congressman.
“He cannot be trusted to lead these negotiations. Would a Russian paid agent do less than he? He should be fired.”
Brian Fitzpatrick, another Republican house representative, called the leak “a major problem” and “one of the many reasons why these ridiculous side shows and secret meetings need to stop.”
He called for the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to be handed full control of the talks.
President Trump dismissed the concerns, describing Witkoff's reported approach to the Russians as "standard" negotiating procedure.
On his way to his Florida home for the US Thanksgiving holiday, Donald Trump said his peace plan had been "fine-tuned".
November 27 was the original deadline for the Ukrainian president to accept the first draft of the peace plan, but the US leader said that he had no deadline for an agreement after earlier pressuring Kyiv to endorse a proposal.
Ukraine and its allies indicated they were broadly happy with changes to the plan, though key sticking points remained, especially over territory and security guarantees.
READ | Russia welcomes 'aspects' of new US plan to end Ukraine war
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had hoped to negotiate those final parts of a peace accord directly with Donald Trump, but the US president said instead he favoured a three-way summit, including President Putin, to be held only when a final deal has been reached, or is in the final stages of preparation.
- Ross Cullen is an eNCA correspondent in Paris.