Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly demanded Ukraine officially renounce its NATO ambitions and withdraw troops from the about 10% of Donbas which Kyiv still controls. Moscow has also said Ukraine must be a neutral country and no NATO troops can be stationed in Ukraine.

By Andreas Rinke and Matthias Williams BERLIN, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will resume talks with U.S. President Donald Trump's envoys in Berlin on Monday, after the U.S.

Ukraine is not currently part of Nato, but Zelensky has consistently called for his country to be welcomed into the alliance.

Zelenskiy offered to drop Ukraine’s NATO goal for binding security guarantees as he met US envoys in Berlin; talks resume Monday.

But Ukraine’s leader griped that overall, the negotiations aimed at ending Kremlin’s deadly aggression aren’t about giving his people a “fair” deal.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday voiced readiness to drop his country's bid to join NATO in exchange for Western security guarantees, but rejected the U.S. push for ceding territory to Russia as he held talks with U.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte issued a stark warning to Western allies about the reality of the threat posed by Russia, as negotiations are making slow progress to end the war in Ukraine and the U.S. pressures Kyiv to make painful compromises with the Kremlin, including on territorial concessions.

In the updated US peace plan submitted by Ukraine to Washington, Kyiv rejected the demand to cede the Donbas to the Russian regime and refused to give up its bid for NATO membership, reports The New York Times.