US and Ukraine have reached consensus on key issues in peace plan – Zelenskyy

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has revealed progress on the peace plan (Omar Havana/AP)

The United States and Ukrainehave reached a consensus on several critical issues aimed at bringing an end to the conflict with Russia, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.

However, Ukraine’s president said sensitive issues around territorial control in Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland, along with the management of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, remain unresolved.

Mr Zelenskyy spoke as the US showed the 20-point plan, hammered out after marathon talks in Florida in recent days, to Russian negotiators. A response is expected from Moscow on Wednesday, Mr Zelenskyy said.

Municipal workers offer plywood to residents to cover their broken windows after an apartment building was hit by a Russian drone during an attack in Kyiv (Efrem Lukatsky/AP)

The Ukrainian president briefed journalists on each point of the plan on Tuesday, but his comments were embargoed until Wednesday morning. The draft proposal, which reflects Ukraine’s wishes, intertwines political and commercial interests to safeguard security while boosting economic potential.

At the heart of the negotiations lies the contentious territorial dispute concerning the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, known as the Donbas. This is “the most difficult point”, Mr Zelenskyy said, and that these matters will be discussed at the leaders' level.

Russia continues to assert maximalist demands, insisting that Ukraine relinquish the remaining territory in Donesk that it has not captured — an ultimatum that Ukraine has rejected. Russia has captured most of Luhansk and about 70% of Donetsk.

In a bid to facilitate compromise, the United States has proposed transforming these areas into free economic zones.

Ukraine insists that any arrangement must be contingent upon a referendum, allowing the Ukrainian people to determine their own fate. Ukraine is demanding the demilitarisation of the area and the presence of an international force to ensure stability, Mr Zelenskyy said.