Reports suggest that US President Donald Trump is aiming to persuade Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to agree to a ceasefire with Russia by Easter as part of a peace initiative.

Trump, who has vocally expressed his belief that he could swiftly resolve the conflict in Ukraine, is reportedly committed to concluding the war within 100 days.

According to unconfirmed information from Ukrainian publication Strana, the proposed peace plan involves implementing a ceasefire by April 20 to halt Russia’s ongoing advancement, preventing Ukraine from becoming a NATO member, and requiring Kyiv to acknowledge Russian control over annexed territories.

On top of this, Ukrainian troops will be made to leave Russia’s Kursk region, where it launched a counteroffensive in August, while a contingent of European soldiers, which could include British troops, would be asked to police a demilitarised zone. American troops will not be involved in this contingent. 

The EU will reportedly be asked to assist Ukraine in its reconstruction efforts, which may cost as much as $486billion (£392billion) over the next decade according to the German Marshall Fund thinktank. 

The plans will reportedly begin with a phone call between Zelensky and Vladimir Putin in early February, a meeting between the two warring leaders in late February to early March and an official ceasefire declaration of a ceasefire by April 20. 

A declaration on the agreed parameters for ending the war would then be released by May 9, after which Kyiv would be asked not to extend martial law or mobilise troops. 

While many of the terms of the reported plans include concessions for Ukraine, Trump is also reportedly planning on continuing American support for Ukraine’s military, as well as a pathway for it to join the EU by 2030. 

But Russia would also make significant gains as the plans include lifting sanctions on Russian energy over several years, though money from special duties on energy will be used to help fund Ukraine’s rebuilding efforts. 

Zelensky’s office has strenuously denied the legitimacy of the peace plans. 

Andriy Yermak, the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, wrote on Telegram that they did not ‘exist in reality’, adding that such reports often disguised allegations spread by Russians. 

Zelensky told media groups on Sunday: ‘Russia’s war is against Ukraine, against Europe, against the whole world, but above all, the war is waged on our land. It is impossible to exclude Ukraine from any negotiating platform. 

‘Either this negotiating platform will have no real results, or it will have only political results. And such results will have nothing to do with security or the end of the war.’

He added: ‘I would really like the European voice to be there as well. It is important for us because we will be members of the European Union. 

‘But I can’t say clearly today what the structure of the negotiation process will be. Because we do not have a joint plan yet.’

Russia currently controls around 20% of Ukraine’s territory, and has held widely disregarded referendums in four regions in which they ‘voted’ to join Russia. 

Zelensky previously claimed that he would never allow an acre of land to remain in Putin’s hands, but has also admitted that land may not be returned to Ukraine immediately. 

Overnight, Ukrainian forces struck an airfield in southern Russia that was being used to launch Iran-designed Shahed drones, as France said it had delivered a first batch of Mirage fighter jets to Ukraine.

The nighttime attack on the Primorsko-Akhtarsk airfield in Russia’s Krasnodar region started a fire, the General Staff wrote on Facebook. The facility houses and fires drones and maintains aircraft used to attack Ukraine’s Kherson and Zaporizhzhia border region.

It was not possible to independently verify the claim. The Russian Defense Ministry reported downing Ukrainian drones over Krasnodar, but it didn’t say where or mention the airfield.

Ukraine has developed its own long-range drones as part of its effort to grow its domestic arms industry and become less dependent on Western help to fight its almost three-year war with Russia. The drones have at times reached deep into Russia, hitting oil refineries, weapons stores and airfields.

Meanwhile, French authorities said they had delivered the first fighter jets promised to Ukraine by President Emmanuel Macron last June.

‘The first of them arrived in Ukraine today,’ Sebastien Lecornu, the minister of the armed forces, said on X. ‘With Ukrainian pilots on board, trained for several months in France, they will now help to defend the skies over Ukraine.’

Lecornu did not say how many planes were delivered.

Ukraine has also received F-16s from European countries, though Ukrainian officials have rarely mentioned them in official comments about the fighting.

Russian forces fired 77 Shahed and other types of drones, as well as two ballistic Iskander-M missiles, at Ukraine overnight, according to Ukraine’s air force. 

A statement said 56 drones were destroyed and 18 others were jammed and lost mid-flight.

Some buildings were damaged, but no casualties were reported.