The United States and Ukraine sought on Monday to narrow the gaps in a peace plan to end the war with Russia after agreeing to modify a U.S. proposal that Kyiv and its European allies saw as a Kremlin wish list.

Kyiv and its allies voiced optimism Tuesday that talks with an American delegation had produced changes to the plan, while the Kremlin said it was waiting to hear more.

The European Union’s defense chief has proposed deeper integration of the bloc’s defense industry with Ukraine as a U.S. peace plan remains in flux and Russia’s unconventional warfare operations rattle the 27-nation bloc.

The world’s attention was fixed on talks between Ukraine and the U.S. in neutral Geneva over the weekend. Delegations from both countries have redrafted conditions of an earlier peace plan, which although it has not been officially released,

From the front-line city of Pokrovsk in eastern Donetsk, to Zaporizhzhia in the south, there is little doubt that Russia is making advances. But, battlefield monitors suggest the picture is not quite so bleak for Ukraine as Trump and Putin suggest.

Russia has launched a wave of attacks on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, striking residential buildings and energy infrastructure.

Some European leaders have pushed back against parts of the the U.S.-led Ukraine peace plan, demanding full involvement in negotiations as talks continue.

The so-called European E3 powers - Britain, France and Germany - have drafted a counter-proposal that pushes back on proposed limits to Kyiv's armed forces and territorial concessions, according to a document seen by Reuters on Sunday and a source familiar with the document.

In a 10-minute speech outside the presidential palace in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said Ukraine had an impossible choice. It could keep its national dignity or risk losing a major partner in the shape of a US administration apparently determined to end the conflict on Moscow’s brutal terms.

US President Donald Trump “remains hopeful and optimistic that a deal can be struck” to end Russia’s war with Ukraine. Follow live updates