Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at Ukraine’s response to a U.S.-drafted peace plan, Taiwan’s enduring friendship with Japan, and a volcanic eruption in Indonesia.
Open to Considering
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed willingness on Thursday to consider a U.S.-drafted peace deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war, despite the proposal reportedly calling for Kyiv to make substantial concessions to Moscow. “We are ready now, as before, to work constructively with the American side, as well as with our partners in Europe and around the world, so that the outcome is peace,” Zelensky’s office said in a statement following his meeting with U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll.
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at Ukraine’s response to a U.S.-drafted peace plan, Taiwan’s enduring friendship with Japan, and a volcanic eruption in Indonesia.
Open to Considering
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed willingness on Thursday to consider a U.S.-drafted peace deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war, despite the proposal reportedly calling for Kyiv to make substantial concessions to Moscow. “We are ready now, as before, to work constructively with the American side, as well as with our partners in Europe and around the world, so that the outcome is peace,” Zelensky’s office said in a statement following his meeting with U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll.
However, it is unclear what the timeline for progress is and which points, if any, Zelensky has agreed to.
Reports emerged this week that Trump administration envoy Steve Witkoff has been working secretly with Kirill Dmitriev, an envoy for Russian President Vladimir Putin and the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, to draft a 28-point peace deal. The plan includes several elements that Ukraine has long considered nonstarters, including requiring it to make significant territorial concessions to Moscow and accept limits on the size and capabilities of its military, in exchange for U.S. security guarantees.
“The United States has been working on a detailed and acceptable plan for both sides to stop the killing and create a durable, lasting peace,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday. Moscow, meanwhile, has downplayed Russia’s involvement in crafting the proposal, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying that “contacts” with the United States had occurred but that no “consultations or negotiations” were happening.
Yet news of the plan has been met with concern from many of Ukraine’s European allies, as Ukraine was reportedly only included after extensive talks between the U.S. and Russian envoys were had, and European officials were not consulted during the initial drafting process.
The White House has tried to reassure Kyiv and its allies that the plan is a “live document,” according to Axios, with Witkoff telling German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on Thursday that the new plan is a “framework of ideas.” But that hasn’t stopped some Western leaders from voicing concerns that the deal is more a win for Russia than it is for Ukraine.
“Ukrainians want peace—a just peace that respects everyone’s sovereignty, a durable peace that can’t be called into question by future aggression,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Thursday. “But peace cannot be a capitulation.”
U.S. officials have suggested that Zelensky may be more inclined to concede past non-negotiables, as his administration remains embroiled in a debilitating corruption scandal. This week, Ukrainian opposition politicians called on the president to fire his chief of staff or even form a new unity government, and late Thursday, Zelensky convened his party’s lawmakers to address domestic concerns.
However, other analysts have argued that the scandal may harden Zelensky’s resolve in order to avoid appearing as if he’s selling out to Moscow—an allegation that the Ukrainian leader cannot afford. This comes as Russian forces are poised to capture the strategic front-line city of Pokrovsk. Video released by the Russian Defense Ministry on Thursday appeared to show Russian troops moving freely through the southern part of Pokrovsk.
Today’s Most Read
What We’re Following
Taipei backs Tokyo. Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te posted a photo to his Instagram and Facebook accounts of himself enjoying Japanese-sourced sushi on Thursday in a thinly veiled reference to reports that China was planning to ban Japanese seafood imports. “It fully shows the firm friendship between Taiwan and Japan,” Lai wrote.
His post comes amid a fraught diplomatic spat between China and Japan that began earlier this month, when newly elected Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could threaten Tokyo and trigger a Japanese military response. The ensuing backlash—including Beijing and Tokyo summoning each other’s ambassadors, flight cancellations to Japan, new Chinese maritime patrols near disputed islands, and now the Japanese seafood import restrictions—has left the region teetering toward all-out diplomatic war.
“At this critical juncture, we must also support Japan in effectively stabilizing the situation and halting the Chinese communists’ bullying behavior,” Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said, adding that Taipei’s citizens should make more visits to Japan and buy more Japanese products to show their support.
Level 4 alert. Indonesian authorities evacuated more than 1,000 people on Thursday following the eruption of its Semeru volcano. Located on the heavily populated Java Island, Semeru is one of roughly 130 active volcanos in Indonesia and is one of the country’s tallest peaks.
A Level 4 alert—the Indonesian government’s highest level—remained in effect after the volcano erupted 10 times on Wednesday, with officials warning citizens of lava flows, rockfall, and hot ash clouds descending Semeru’s slopes. Individuals within five miles of Semeru are at risk of being hit by debris, and those as far as 12 miles away could face lava and ash. Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology’s Volcanic Ash Advisory Center, which is responsible for monitoring Southeast Asian airspace, has also issued a Volcanic Ash Advisory for air traffic.
Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ocean’s Ring of Fire, a highly seismically active zone that routinely sees volcanic activity. Semeru has erupted more than 2,800 times so far this year; its last major blast in December 2021 killed at least 51 people and doused several nearby villages in ash.
Deadly Israeli strikes. Israeli forces launched airstrikes in Gaza on Wednesday and Thursday, killing at least 32 people and injuring around 88 others. The Israeli military said that the operations were in retaliation for militants shooting at Israeli soldiers near the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis—an attack that did not cause any injuries. Hamas denied the allegations, accusing Israel of attempting to “justify its ongoing crimes and violations” and demanding that the United States exert “immediate, serious pressure” on Israel to rein in its military campaign.
Bouts of deadly violence have marred the fragile cease-fire several times since the truce went into effect last month. In at least two separate instances, Hamas militants have fired on Israeli troops, with one incident killing at least one soldier In response, Israeli forces have unleashed heavy force, killing about 312 Palestinians in total, according to local health officials.
Also on Wednesday, Israel’s military carried out airstrikes at suspected Hezbollah sites, including weapons storage facilities, in southern Lebanon. The operation came one day after Israeli attacks targeted a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, killing 13 people. This was the deadliest assault on Israel’s northern neighbor since a cease-fire last November ended the Israel-Hezbollah war.
Odds and Ends
A U.S. federal grand jury indicted 35-year-old Jesse Agus Martinez last Friday for allegedly attempting to smuggle two orange-fronted parakeets into the United States—via his underwear. According to the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of California, when Customs and Border Protection officers questioned Martinez, a U.S. citizen, about his unusually large bulge, Martinez claimed that it was his “pirrin,” a Spanish word for penis. Both birds were found alive, though heavily sedated, inside brown sacks tucked into Martinez’s undergarments. Martinez faces up to 20 years in prison for trafficking a protected species without following proper quarantine and clearance procedures.
