By Friederike Heine, Matthias Williams and Olena Harmash BERLIN/KYIV, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Ukraine has relinquished its ambition of joining the NATO military alliance in exchange for Western security guarantees as a compromise to end the war with Russia,

The president said he had exchanged “pretty strong words” with European leaders, while Russia signaled it saw itself as increasingly on the same page as the U.S.

Ukraine and its allies are scrambling to keep Trump onside as the U.S. piles pressure on Kyiv to make a peace deal.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this week his country could be ready to hold elections in the next 60 to 90 days if security could be guaranteed, seeking to push back on claims by US President Donald Trump that he is using the war with Russia to cling to power.

Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds of drone attacks overnight.

The Ukrainian leader said Thursday that there was still no common understanding on the land issue and that Ukrainians should vote on any territorial concessions in a referendum.

Russia's central bank says it is suing Belgium's Euroclear in court following an EU bid to use Russian assets to aid Ukraine.

The European Union on Friday indefinitely froze Russia’s assets in Europe to ensure that Hungary and Slovakia, both with Moscow-friendly governments, can’t prevent the billions of euros from being used to support Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he is ready to give up on demands for Nato membership in exchange for security guarantees from the US and Europe, in a move aimed at advancing peace talks in Berlin on Sunday.

The latest draft includes proposals on territorial concessions, Germany's chancellor says.