Ukraine updates: Swiss peace summit wraps up

The two-day Ukraine peace conference at the Bürgenstock resort in Switzerland finished on Sunday, with 80 countries signing off on a final declaration.

DW correspondent Rosie Birchard shares her assessment.

Ukraine coach Serhiy Rebrov said it was vital for his team to take part in Euro 2024 to "show the spirit" of a country ravaged by war since Russia's full-scale invasion began two years ago.

Rebrov asked Europe to continue to support his nation in its war against Russia ahead of their European Football Championship opener against Romania on Monday.

"The war continues. We need continued support, we are fighting for peace, we are fighting for peace in Europe," Rebrov added, saying that this background provide an "extra tick of motivation."

Due to the war, Ukraine hasn't played a home match in over two years. However, the team still managed to qualify for the Euros.

Along with Romania, Ukraine will face Belgium and Slovakia in Group E, and Rebrov has called on his players to show the spirit of the country as they prepare for their first match.

"I know all the players are getting, I am personally getting lots of messages from our fighters, from our soldiers, from our friends who are now fighting for Ukraine, for freedom of Ukraine and I'm sure they are very proud of us," Rebrov said.

"We are very proud for them, but they are telling us 'when you are here show the spirit of Ukraine.' I think this is very important. And this tournament is really about the spirit of our country," he added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy concluded at the end of the peace summit in Switzerland that the support of Western and other leaders shows that the rule of international law can be restored.

"I hope that we can achieve results as soon as possible," he told the plenary. "We'll prove to everyone in the world that the UN Charter can be restored to full effectiveness."

According to Zelenskyy, he would be open to immediate peace talks with Russia if it withdrew its troops from his country.

"Russia can start the negotiations with us tomorrow, not waiting for anything, if they pull out from our legal territories," the Ukrainian president said.

But he also said that Russia was "not ready" to discuss a just and lasting peace. "Russia does not want peace ... Russia and their leadership are not ready for a just peace, that's a fact," he added.

Zelenskyy said that participants at a Swiss summit on peace in Ukraine had agreed to continue working in special groups to develop "action plans for peace."

"We agreed to start to work in special after-summit groups on specific ideas, proposals and developments that can restore security in various aspects," the Ukrainian leader told a news conference.

"When the action plans for peace are ready and when every step is worked out, the path will be opened for the second peace summit," he added.

Some eighty countries attending a conference at the Swiss resort of Bürgenstock jointly called for the "territorial integrity" of Ukraine to be the basis for any peace agreement to end Russia's war.

"We believe that reaching peace requires the involvement of and dialogue between all parties," stated a final communique, supported by the vast majority of the countries that attended the summit.

A number of key developing nations, however, did not join in. Six countries from the G20 group of the world's major economic powers — Brazil, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, India and Indonesia — did not endorse the communique, as well as Armenia, Bahrain, Thailand, Libya, the United Arab Emirates, Colombia and the Vatican.

The final document said the UN Charter and "respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty can and will serve as a basis for achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine."

The document also reaffirmed a commitment to the "territorial integrity of all states, including Ukraine." The declaration urged a full exchange of prisoners of war and the return of deported children.

The joint communique capped a two-day conference marked by the absence of Russia, which was not invited, but that many attendees hoped could join in on a roadmap to peace.

More than 90 delegations, mostly from Western countries but also from some major developing countries, attended the conference.

Russian journalist Nikita Tsitsagi has been killed in a drone attack in eastern Ukraine, his news outlet said Sunday.

News.ru posted on Telegram that the attack happened around the Saint-Nicolas monastery near the town of Vugledar, in the Donbas region.

Vugledar has witnessed intense fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces over the past three months.

"We offer our condolences to Nikita's family and friends," the news site added.

The strike happened two days after a journalist for Russia's state television was killed and another wounded in a separate Ukrainian drone strike.

The attack happened in Golmivsky, a Russian-controlled village close to the front line in the Donetsk region.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier this month that "at least 30" Russian journalists had been killed since the start of the conflict in Ukraine. The claim could not be independently verified.

Ukraine's capital held its first Pride march for LGBTQ+ rights on Sunday since Russia's invasion.

The rally in Kyiv drew around 500 people. Martial law remains in place due to the conflict and permits for protests are hard to obtain.

Several Ukrainian soldiers and diplomats from Western embassies also took part.

The protesters demanded the legalization of civil unions — a step before same-sex marriage — and tougher punishment for those who discriminate based on sexual orientation and gender identity. 

A simultaneous march through Kyiv by far-right groups tried to stop the Pride march from taking place, local media reported.

The police reportedly separated the two demonstrations.

Ukraine's positions have been considered in the final communique for the peace summit in  Switzerland, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.

He told reporters at the Bürgenstock resort that the text was complete and "balanced."

The final communique from the summit has yet to be officially released.

Kuleba also said no alternative peace plans had been discussed at the two-day event, attended by world leaders, to demand an end to Russia's invasion.

He also hinted that Russia could be involved in a future summit but not if the Kremlin insists that Kyiv cedes the four regions of Ukraine under partial Russian occupation and drops its goal of joining NATO.

"Of course, we...understand perfectly that a time will come when it will be necessary to talk to Russia," he said. "But our position is very clear: We will not allow Russia to speak in the language of ultimatums like it is speaking now."

Meanwhile, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer warned that the talks were not headed for a unanimous joint declaration. 

A draft of the final declaration from the Ukraine Peace Summit in Switzerland is expected to restate international condemnation of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and call for the restoration of Kyiv's control over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and its Azov Sea ports.

The draft, seen by news agencies, also calls for Ukraine's territorial integrity to be respected and for the return of thousands of illegally deported children 

Ukraine says about 20,000 children have been taken to Russia or Russian-occupied territory without the consent of family or guardians since the war began. Moscow insists it is protecting vulnerable children from a war zone.

World leaders have gathered in the Swiss resort of Bürgenstock for a second day of the summit Sunday in a bid to bolster international support for ending the conflict. 

US Vice President Kamala Harris, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz along with representatives of 90 countries are taking part in the Ukraine Peace Summit, but not Russia or China.

mm/ab (Reuters, AFP, dpa, AP)