Zürcher Nachrichten - US presses Ukraine to cede land as Russian strikes kill 26

The proposal appears to repeat Russia's maximalist terms to end the war -- demands consistently rejected by Ukraine as tantamount to capitulation.

The surprise initiative comes as Russian missiles hit the western city of Ternopil, far from the front line, in one of the deadliest attacks on western Ukraine since the invasion began in 2022.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's efforts to re-engage US President Donald Trump's administration in the peace process during a surprise visit to Turkey fell flat after an American envoy thought to be joining him did not make the trip.

The draft US peace proposal provides for "recognition of Crimea and other regions that the Russians have taken" and "reduction of the army to 400,000 personnel", a source familiar with it, who did not wish to be identified, told AFP.

It would also see Ukraine giving up all long-range weapons.

"An important nuance is that we don't understand whether this is really Trump's story" or "his entourage's", the official added.

It was "unclear" what Russia was supposed to do in return, according to the source.

At the same time, US Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll arrived in Kyiv, leading a high-profile Pentagon delegation to meet Ukrainian officials and find ways to settle the conflict, US broadcaster CBS News said, citing the US military. Driscoll met with Ukrainian Defence Minister Denys Shmygal on Wednesday.

American media outlet Axios earlier reported Moscow and Washington had been working on a secret plan to end the almost four-year war.

The Kremlin had declined to comment on the report, later saying there was nothing new in the peace settlement progress. AFP has contacted the White House for comment.

Russia now occupies around a fifth of Ukrainian territory, much of it ravaged by fighting.

- 'Too late' -

In Ternopil, AFP saw dozens of rescuers searching through rubble after cruise missiles slammed into apartment blocks, using cranes to reach the destroyed building. Thick grey smoke engulfed the streets just after explosions were heard at 7:00 am (0500 GMT).

City officials reported the fires had caused chlorine levels in the air to spike to six times the norm, and called on Ternopil's 200,000 residents to stay home and close their windows.

Rescuers dangled on cabins hanging from cranes trying to reach the top of the stricken Soviet-era apartment building.

Wrapped in a pink blanket, 46-year-old Oksana waited for news of her 20-year-old son, Bohdan.

"I went to work, and my son stayed at home. I called him from the minibus and said 'Bohdan, get dressed and come out'," she said. "He said: 'Mum, don't worry, everything will be fine.' But it was too late. That's it," she told AFP.

Her sister, Natalia Bachinska, said the family lived on the ninth floor.

"Their apartment is completely gone... He still has not been found."

The state emergency service said 26 people, including three children, were killed, and another 92 people, including 18 children, wounded.

"These were people who were simply at home, peacefully sleeping," Zelensky said, warning that rescuers were still searching for people trapped in the rubble.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk said he was "appalled" by the number of civilian casualties in the attack.

"The horror of powerful long-range missiles combined with waves of drones increasingly being used by Russian forces was again painfully laid bare in Ukraine this morning," Turk said in a statement.

"This is how Russia's 'peace plans' look in reality," said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga.

- Winter looming -

The strike came as Russia batters Ukraine's energy grid ahead of the winter, and with Ukraine's stretched troops under pressure on the front line.

Kyiv had pitched Zelensky's unexpected visit to Turkey as part of efforts to re-engage the US in trying to end the war.

But Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff did not travel after Ukraine had said he was expected to join the talks.

And there were no Russian officials present.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged the warring sides to join talks in Istanbul, where three rounds of negotiations this year have yielded only prisoner exchanges and the repatriation of killed soldiers' bodies.

Zelensky said he wanted to resume POW swaps with Russia by the end of the year.

But Ukraine's main hope is that Washington can push Russia to the negotiating table, including by imposing sanctions.

On the battlefield, Russian troops are making slow but steady advances, and Moscow insists it will carry on fighting if Ukraine does not cave to its demands.

"The war must end, there is no alternative to peace," Zelensky said in Ankara.

W.Odermatt--NZN