Video recorded at the entrance to a highway in Kupyyansk, Ukraine, confirms the recovery of some lost land. (Associated Press)

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy held a five-hour meeting with a US special envoy in Berlin on the 14th to discuss the possibility of ending the Russia-Ukraine war. Zelenskyy offered to abandon Ukraine's long-term goal of joining NATO in exchange for security guarantees from Western countries. This represents a significant shift in Ukraine's position and aligns with some of Russia's demands. Trump's special envoy, Weikov, stated that the two sides had in-depth discussions on a 20-point peace plan and economic issues, achieving"significant progress." Negotiations will continue on the 15th. Zelenskyy emphasized that security guarantees must be legally binding and pointed out that a ceasefire based on the existing front lines would be a fair option.

Reuters reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy held a five-hour meeting with a US special envoy in Berlin on the 14th to discuss the possibility of ending the Russia-Ukraine war and expressed his willingness to abandon the long-standing goal of joining NATO. The talks are expected to continue on the 15th.

Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said that"a lot of progress" had been made after he met with Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Zelensky. This is the latest round of diplomatic efforts to end the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II, but specific details have not yet been released.

Weikov posted on the social media platform X:"The two sides had in-depth discussions on the 20-point peace plan, economic issues, and other topics, making significant progress, and will meet again tomorrow morning."

The meeting was chaired by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Sources indicated that Merz left after a brief address, allowing the two sides to proceed with substantive negotiations. Other European leaders are also expected to travel to Germany on Monday to participate in related talks.

Ukraine is willing to forgo joining NATO.

Zelensky's advisor, Dmytro Lytvyn, said the president would explain the contents of the talks on the 15th after they concluded. He noted that officials were reviewing the relevant draft documents. Lytvyn told reporters via WhatsApp,"The talks lasted for more than five hours and have temporarily ended today. Both sides have agreed to resume negotiations tomorrow morning."

Prior to the talks, Zelensky offered to forgo joining NATO in exchange for security guarantees from Western countries.

This move signifies a major shift in Ukraine's stance. Ukraine has long viewed joining NATO as a key safeguard against renewed Russian aggression, a goal even enshrined in its constitution. This concession also aligns with some of Russia's objectives, although Kyiv has so far refused to cede territory to Moscow.

In response to a reporter's question in a WhatsApp chat, Zelensky stated,"From the beginning, Ukraine wanted to join NATO because that's a real security guarantee. But some of our partners from the US and Europe didn't support this direction." He added,"Therefore, the options we see today are: a bilateral security guarantee between Ukraine and the US, a US security commitment similar to Article 5 of NATO, and security guarantees from our European partners and other countries—including Canada and Japan—all of which help prevent another Russian invasion."

Zelensky added that this was already a compromise made by Ukraine, and emphasized that the relevant security guarantees must be legally binding.

Zelensky also accused Russia of deliberately prolonging the war through deadly bombings of cities and power and water supply facilities. He added that a ceasefire along the current front would be a fair option.

Putin hopes the West will commit to not expanding NATO eastward.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly demanded that Ukraine formally abandon its ambitions to join NATO and withdraw its troops from the approximately 10% of the Donbas region currently controlled by Kyiv. Moscow also maintains that Ukraine must remain neutral and that no NATO troops should be stationed on its territory.

Earlier, Russian sources indicated that Putin wanted major Western countries to make a"written" commitment not to expand the US-led NATO alliance eastward, effectively excluding Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, and other former Soviet republics from joining NATO.