PARIS/BERLIN/WASHINGTON/MOSCOW/KYIV/THE HAGUE - French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and other European leaders on Monday rejected any Ukraine peace deal negotiated "without Ukrainians and Europeans."

Macron said Monday that any "peace plan" concerning the Russia-Ukraine conflict could only be finalized with both Ukraine and Europe involved in negotiations.

Macron made the remarks at a joint press conference at the Elysee Palace after meeting with visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

On issues including frozen Russian assets, security guarantees and Ukraine's potential accession to the European Union, Macron said agreements "can only be finalized with the Europeans around the table."

The French president also stressed that "there is no finalized peace plan as such today."

Zelensky said Ukraine sought to end the conflict "in a dignified manner," calling for "solid" security guarantees, and noted that the "territorial issue will be the most difficult" in future talks.

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According to the Elysee Palace, Macron and Zelensky also held discussions with European leaders as well as US and Ukrainian negotiators on Monday.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also said on Monday that Germany stands against any "dictated peace" over the heads of Ukraine.

"No decision about Ukraine and Europe without Ukrainians and without Europeans," Merz told a press conference following his meeting with visiting Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Berlin.

Tusk voiced support for Ukraine, noting efforts by Poland and Germany to jointly strengthen the security of Europe.

Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics said on Monday that Europe must also be at the negotiating table, commenting on a possible peace agreement in Ukraine.

Foreign policy makers in Latvia and the Nordic-Baltic region, as well as leaders of the EU and most NATO member states, agree that three principles should be respected, namely the territorial indivisibility of Ukraine, sovereignty and security interests, Rinkevics told Latvian Radio program Krustpunkta.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with US presidential special envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow on Tuesday to discuss ending the conflict with Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday.

A US-proposed 28-point "peace plan" was unveiled two weeks ago. Following its release, representatives from the United States, Ukraine and several European countries met in Geneva on Nov 23 to discuss the plan.

On Sunday, US President Donald Trump suggested on Sunday that there was a "good chance" for a peace deal to be reached to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict that has lasted nearly four years.

Florida talks

His remarks came after the roughly four-hour high-level US-Ukraine meeting in Hallandale Beach, Florida.

The talks were "going along, and they're going along well," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.

"I think that there's a good chance we can make a deal," he said.

Following the meeting, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that although "additional progress was made" on a revised peace plan to end the conflict, "there is more work to be done."

"There are a lot of moving parts, and obviously there's another party involved here that will have to be a part of the equation," Rubio said.

The Trump administration has "also been in touch in varying degrees with the Russian side, but we have a pretty good understanding of their views as well," Rubio said.

"The end goal, obviously, is not just the end of the war," Rubio said before the meeting began. "But it's also about securing an end to the war that leaves Ukraine sovereign and independent and with an opportunity at real prosperity."

Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council and head of the Ukrainian delegation, described the talks as "difficult but productive."

"We discussed all the matters that are important for Ukraine. And the US was super supportive," Umerov told reporters.

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"We have clear directives and priorities: Safeguarding Ukrainian interests, ensuring substantive dialogue, and advancing on the basis of the progress achieved in Geneva," Umerov wrote on social media X after the meeting began. "We are working to secure real peace for Ukraine and reliable, long-term security guarantees."

Neither Rubio nor Umerov took questions from reporters after their talks.

Sunday's talks covered possible timetables for new elections in Ukraine, and the prospect of land swaps between Russia and Ukraine, said a senior US official.

Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner also joined Sunday's talks, and will fly to Moscow on Monday for further discussions, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Kremlin: Russian forces take Krasnoarmeysk, Volchansk

Meanwhile, Putin was briefed on Sunday evening that the Russian forces had taken control of Krasnoarmeysk in the Donetsk region and Volchansk in the Kharkov region, the Kremlin said in a statement on Monday.

The president received the reports from Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov, Commander of the Centre Force Valery Solodchuk and Commander of the East Force Andrei Ivanayev, said the statement.

In his report, Gerasimov announced the capture of Krasnoarmeysk and Volchansk, also detailing the results of the offensive operations in other areas.

Solodchuk made a report on the progress in eliminating the Ukrainian armed forces surrounded in the vicinity of the Krasnoarmeysk-Dimitrov agglomeration, announcing in particular that the southern part of Dimitrov was now under Russian control.

Ivanayev reported on the progress in taking control of the Zaporizhzhia region and the Dnepropetrovsk region. Ivanayev announced that his force reached the Gaichur river and units of the 5th Combined Arms Army were now beginning an operation to capture the city of Gulyaipole in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Putin thanked the commanders and personnel of all the forces for their efficiency and tasked the officers with ensuring the troops are provided with everything they need to continue fighting in the upcoming winter months.

On Monday night, the Russian Ministry of Defense released video footage from Krasnoarmeysk showing servicemen raising the Russian flag in the city's main square, marking its capture.

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Also on Monday, at least four people were killed and 22 others injured in a Russian missile strike on the city of Dnipro in central Ukraine, according to a local official.

Preliminary information showed the attack damaged an enterprise and a car service station, said Vladyslav Haivanenko, acting head of Dnipropetrovsk regional administration, on Telegram.

All the injured were hospitalized. Rescue efforts involving medical personnel and police were ongoing as of midday (1000 GMT) Monday.

Dutch support for Ukraine

At The Hague, the Dutch Ministry of Defense announced Monday that the Netherlands is making an additional contribution of 250 million euros ($290.72 million) in military aid to Ukraine, supplying equipment drawn from US stockpiles that Ukraine urgently needs.

"These include equipment and missiles for air defense, as well as F-16 munitions and unmanned aerial systems," the ministry said.

Later on Monday, the ministry also announced that the Dutch government will deploy two Patriot air-defense systems, a NASAMS air-defense system, counter-drone systems, and 300 military personnel to protect a logistics hub in Poland. The facility serves as a key transit point for NATO-supplied military equipment bound for Ukraine. The Netherlands will provide security for the hub until June 1, 2026.