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Trump, Zelenskyy say Ukraine peace deal close but ‘thorny issues’ remain after Florida talks
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President Donald Trump said Sunday that peace talks to end the war in Ukraine are close to completion after a meeting in Florida with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with both leaders citing major progress on a 20-point plan while acknowledging unresolved disputes over territory, ceasefire terms and Ukrainian approval.
Trump and Zelenskyy spoke to reporters following their meeting at Mar-a-Lago, describing weeks of negotiations involving U.S., Ukrainian, European Union and NATO officials that have moved a potential peace framework close to the finish line, though several high-stakes issues remain unresolved.
Trump said negotiations have intensified over the past month and suggested discussions are far more advanced than at any previous point in the war, while cautioning that final agreements depend on resolving a small number of difficult questions.
“We could be very close,” Trump said. “There are one or two very thorny issues, very tough issues. But I think we’re doing very well. We made a lot of progress today, but really, we’ve made it over the last month. This is not a one-day process. It’s very complicated stuff.”
ZELENSKYY READY TO PRESENT NEW PEACE PROPOSALS TO US AND RUSSIA AFTER WORKING WITH EUROPEAN TALKS
President Donald Trump welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, on December 28, 2025. (Jim WATSON / AFP via Getty Images)
Zelenskyy echoed that assessment, confirming that negotiators have largely agreed on the framework of a deal and crediting sustained diplomacy across multiple international meetings leading up to the Florida talks.
He said negotiations have taken place over several weeks in cities including Geneva, Miami, Berlin and at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, with American and Ukrainian teams working toward a shared peace framework.
“We discussed all the aspects of the peace framework, which includes – and we have great achievements – a 20-point peace plan, 90% agreed,” Zelenskyy said.
MOMENTUM BUILDS IN UKRAINE PEACE PUSH, BUT EXPERTS FEAR PUTIN WON’T BUDGE
Both leaders said European and NATO officials were closely involved in the process, with a joint call held following the meeting that included senior leaders from across the continent and international institutions.
Zelenskyy said teams are expected to meet again in the coming weeks to finalize remaining issues and that Trump has agreed to potentially host further talks in Washington with European leaders and a Ukrainian delegation.
Despite the progress, territory – particularly the status of Donbas – remains one of the most difficult unresolved issues, with Trump and Zelenskyy acknowledging differing positions between Ukraine and Russia.
FINNISH PRESIDENT SAYS RUSSIA-UKRAINE PEACE DEAL CLOSER THAN ANY POINT DURING THE WAR
Ukrainian servicemen of the 44th artillery brigade fire a 2s22 Bohdana self-propelled howitzer towards Russian positions at the frontline in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (Danylo Antoniuk/AP Photo)
Trump suggested that time could be a critical factor in negotiations, warning that delays could result in further territorial losses as fighting continues.
“Some of that land has been taken,” Trump said. “Some of that land is maybe up for grabs, but it may be taken over the next period of a number of months. Are you better off making a deal now?”
Zelenskyy stressed that any final agreement would need to comply with Ukrainian law and reflect the will of the Ukrainian people, potentially requiring parliamentary approval or a national referendum.
“Our society, too, has to choose and decide who has to vote, because it’s their land – the land not of one person,” Zelenskyy said. “It’s the land of our nation for a lot of generations.”
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Trump said polling shows strong public support for ending the war and reiterated his desire to bring the conflict to a close, citing the scale of casualties on both sides.
“We want to see it ended,” Trump said. “I want it ended because I don’t want to see so many people dying. We’re losing massive numbers of people – the biggest by far since World War II.”
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Russia Opposes Taiwan Independence in Any Form, FM Lavrov Says
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Dec 28 (Reuters) – Russia opposes Taiwan’s independence in any form and considers the island an inseparable part of China, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in remarks published on Sunday.
In an interview with Russia’s TASS state news agency, Lavrov also urged Japan to “think carefully” about what he described as a course towards militarisation”.
(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by William Mallard)
Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.
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Canada to Provide $2.5 Billion in Economic Aid for Ukraine, Prime Minister Says
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Dec 27 (Reuters) – Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Saturday announced an additional $2.5 billion of economic aid for Ukraine.
The assistance will help Ukraine unlock financing from the International Monetary Fund, Carney said during an appearance with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who also spoke briefly to reporters.
(Reporting by Jasper Ward in Washington; Editing by Sergio Non and Matthew Lewis)
Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.
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Russian strikes kill 1, wound dozens in Ukraine ahead of Trump-Zelenskyy meeting
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Russia attacked Ukraine’s capital with missiles and drones early Saturday morning, killing one person and wounding 27 others, a day before talks between Ukraine and the U.S., local authorities said.
Explosions boomed across Kyiv for hours as ballistic missiles and drones hit the city. The attack began in the early morning hours Saturday and was continuing as day broke.
The Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday that it carried out a “massive strike” overnight, using “long-range precision-guided weapons from land, air, and sea, including Kinzhal hypersonic aeroballistic missiles” and drones, on energy infrastructure facilities “used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” as well as “Ukrainian military-industrial complex enterprises.”
The ministry said the strike came in response to Ukraine’s attacks on “civilian objects” in Russia.
Earlier on Saturday, the ministry said its air defenses shot down seven Ukrainian drones over the Russian regions of Krasnodar and Adygeya overnight.
Poland scrambled fighter jets and closed airports in Lublin and Rzeszow near the border with Ukraine for several hours during the Russian attacks, the country’s armed forces command said on X. There was no violation of Polish airspace, it said. Civil aviation authority Pansa said the two airports had since resumed operations. It was unclear what caused the alert in Poland when the Russian attacks were focused on Kyiv, which is far from the border.
Russia targeted Ukraine with almost 500 drones and 40 missiles of various types, Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram. The main target was energy and civilian infrastructure in Kyiv, he said. In some districts of the region there is no electricity or heating because of the attacks, he added.
The attack came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy prepares to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday for further talks in an effort to end the nearly 4-year-old war.
“There have been many questions these days. Where is the Russian response to the proposals to end the war, which were made by the United States and the world?” Zelenskyy said. “Russian representatives hold long talks, in reality the ‘Kinzal’ and ‘Shaheds’ speak for them.”
“His scream is still in my ears”
There were over 10 damaged residential buildings in the attack, said Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, in a post on Telegram. People were being evacuated from under the rubble of collapsed buildings.
Olena Karpenko, 52, heard a man as he burned to death in the attack. “His scream is still in my ears. I can’t believe it,” she said, weeping.
Karpenko said they heard a sudden explosion at the nearby thermal power plant, followed by a stronger blast that shook the windows of her home. Then came the hit on her building.
Efrem Lukatsky / AP
“I saw how the apartment was burning, there was a fire and we heard a man’s screams, begging for help,” she said.
Two children were among those wounded in the attack, which hit seven locations across the capital, the head of the Kyiv Military Administration, Tymur Tkachenko, in a statement on Telegram. A body was found under the rubble of one damaged building, he said.
“In fact, the entire center of Kyiv was under attack by drones,” he said, adding that Russia was sending a message that “it is raising the stakes in this war.”
A fire broke out in an 18-story residential building in the Dnipro district of the city, and emergency crews rushed to the scene to contain the flames. A 24-story residential building in the Darnytsia district was also hit, Tkachenko said, and more fires broke out in the Obolonskyi and Holosiivsky districts.
In the wider Kyiv region, the strikes hit industrial and residential buildings, according to Ukraine’s Emergency Service. In the Vyshhorod area, emergency crews rescued one person found under the rubble of a destroyed house.
Zelenskyy travels to meet Trump
Zelenskyy told journalists on a messenger app that he will meet with Canadian prime minister Mark Carney and “speak online with European leaders” during a stopover in Canada on his way to the U.S., according to the AFP.
Zelenskyy also said that he would aim to ensure there were “as few unresolved issues as possible” during his talks with Trump while respecting Ukraine’s own red lines.
“I am confident there are compromise proposals — we know the Americans — and, obviously, our enemy also always has its own goals, which we know well,” he said.
Zelenskyy said he would prioritize discussing security guarantees for Ukraine. The U.S. has committed to providing guarantees that mirror the NATO alliance’s Article 5, which means an attack on Ukraine would trigger a collective military response from the U.S. and its allies. But key details need to be worked out.
Territorial concessions are the most sensitive of issues the two leaders will discuss, including the Donetsk region and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Zelenskyy reiterated that Ukraine would never recognize any territory as Russian “under any circumstances.”
“But the most important issue I want to stress today is security guarantees. Beyond territorial issues and the ZNPP (nuclear plant), security guarantees are critically important for us,” he said.
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Explainer-What Lies Ahead for Ukraine’s Contested Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant?
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KYIV, Dec 27 (Reuters) – The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, is one of the main sticking points in U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace plan to end the nearly four-year war between Russia and Ukraine.
The issue is one of 20 points laid out by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a framework peace proposal.
Here are some of the issues regarding the facility:
WHAT ROLE MAY THE U.S. PLAY?
Russia took control of the plant in March 2022 and announced plans to connect it to its power grid. Almost all countries consider that it belongs to Ukraine but Russia says it is owned by Russia and a unit of Russia’s state-owned Rosatom nuclear corporation runs the plant.
Zelenskiy stated at the end of December that the U.S. side had proposed joint trilateral operation of the nuclear power plant with an American chief manager.
Zelenskiy said the Ukrainian proposal envisages Ukrainian-American use of the plant, with the U.S. itself determining how to use 50% of the energy produced.
Russia has considered joint Russian-U.S. use of the plant, according to the Kommersant newspaper.
WHAT IS ITS CURRENT STATUS?
The plant is located in Enerhodar on the banks of the Dnipro River and the Kakhovka Reservoir, 550 km (342 miles) southeast of the capital Kyiv.
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has six Soviet-designed reactors. They were all built in the 1980s, although the sixth only came online in the mid-1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union. It has a total capacity of 5.7 gigawatts, according to an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) database.
Four of the six reactors no longer use Russian nuclear fuel, having switched to fuel produced by then-U.S. nuclear equipment supplier Westinghouse.
After Russia took control of the station, it shut down five of its six reactors and the last reactor ceased to produce electricity in September 2022. Rosatom said in 2025 that it was ready to return the U.S. fuel to the United States.
According to the Russian management of the plant, all six reactors are in “cold shutdown.”
Both Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of striking the nuclear plant and of severing power lines to the plant.
The plant’s equipment is powered by electricity supplied from Ukraine. Over the past four years these supplies have been interrupted at least eleven times due to breaks in power lines, forcing the plant to switch to emergency diesel generators.
Emergency generators on site can supply electricity to keep the reactors cool if external power lines are cut.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi says that fighting a war around a nuclear plant has put nuclear safety and security in constant jeopardy.
WHY DOES RUSSIA WANT ZAPORIZHZHIA PLANT?
Russia has been preparing to restart the station but says that doing so will depend on the situation in the area. Rosatom chief Alexei Likhachev has not ruled out the supply of electricity produced there to parts of Ukraine.
Oleksandr Kharchenko, director of the Energy Research Centre in Kyiv, said Moscow intended to use the plant to cover a significant energy deficit in Russia’s south.
“That’s why they are fighting so hard for this station,” he said.
In December 2025, Russia’s Federal Service for Environmental, Technological and Nuclear Supervision issued a license for the operation of reactor No. 1, a key step towards restarting the reactor.
Ukraine’s energy ministry called the move illegal and irresponsible, risking a nuclear accident.
WHY DOES UKRAINE NEED THE PLANT?
Russia has been pummelling Ukraine’s energy infrastructure for months and some areas have had blackouts during winter.
In recent months, Russia has sharply increased both the scale and intensity of its attacks on Ukraine’s energy sector, plunging entire regions into darkness.
Analysts say Ukraine’s generation capacity deficit is about 4 gigawatts, or the equivalent of four Zaporizhzhia reactors.
Kharchenko says it would take Ukraine five to seven years to build the generating capacity to compensate for the loss of the Zaporizhzhia plant.
Kharchenko said that if Kyiv regained control of the plant, it would take at least two to three years to understand what condition it was in and another three years to restore the equipment and return it to full operations.
Both Ukrainian state nuclear operator Energoatom and Kharchenko said that Ukraine did not know the real condition of the nuclear power plant today.
WHAT ABOUT COOLING FUEL AT THE PLANT?
In the long term, there is the unresolved problem of the lack of water resources to cool the reactors after the vast Kakhovka hydro-electric dam was blown up in 2023, destroying the reservoir that supplied water to the plant.
Besides the reactors, there are also spent fuel pools at each reactor site used to cool down used nuclear fuel. Without water supply to the pools, the water evaporates and the temperatures increase, risking fire.
An emission of hydrogen from a spent fuel pool caused an explosion in Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011.
Energoatom said the level of the Zaporizhzhia power plant cooling pond had dropped by more than 15%, or 3 metres, since the destruction of the dam, and continued to fall.
Ukrainian officials previously said the available water reserves may be sufficient to operate one or, at most, two nuclear reactors.
(Additional reporting by Yuliia Dysa, Olena Harmash and Felix Hoske; Editing by Mike Collett-White)
Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.
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Trump-Zelenskyy talks will address security guarantees, reconstruction, Ukraine leader says
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that he will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida over the weekend.Related video above: Ukraine and U.S. discuss peace proposals on Christmas Day amid Russian attacksZelenskyy told journalists that the two leaders will discuss security guarantees for Ukraine during Sunday’s talks and that the 20-point plan under discussion “is about 90% ready.”The meeting will take place at Mar-a-Lago.An “economic agreement” also will be discussed, Zelenskyy said, but added that he was unable to confirm “whether anything will be finalized by the end.”The Ukrainian side will also raise “territorial issues,” he said. Moscow has insisted that Ukraine relinquish the remaining territory it still holds in the Donbas — an ultimatum that Ukraine has rejected. Russia has captured most of Luhansk and about 70% of Donetsk — the two areas that make up the Donbas.Zelenskyy said that Ukraine “would like the Europeans to be involved,” but doubted whether it would be possible at short notice.“We must, without doubt, find some format in the near future in which not only Ukraine and the U.S. are present, but Europe is represented as well,” he said.The announced meeting is the latest development in an extensive U.S.-led diplomatic push to end the nearly four-year Russia-Ukraine war, but efforts have run into sharply conflicting demands by Moscow and Kyiv.Zelenskyy’s comments came after he said Thursday that he had a “good conversation” with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Friday that the Kremlin had already been in contact with U.S. representatives since Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev recently met with U.S. envoys in Florida.“It was agreed upon to continue the dialogue,” he said.Trump is engaged in a diplomatic push to end Russia’s all-out war, which began on Feb. 24, 2022, but his efforts have run into sharply conflicting demands by Moscow and Kyiv. Zelenskyy said Tuesday that he would be willing to withdraw troops from Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland as part of a plan to end the war if Russia also pulls back and the area becomes a demilitarized zone monitored by international forces.Though Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday that there had been “slow but steady progress” in the peace talks, Russia has given no indication that it will agree to any kind of withdrawal from land it has seized.On the ground, two people were killed and six more wounded Friday when a guided aerial bomb hit a busy road and set cars aflame in Ukraine’s second biggest city, Kharkiv, mayor Ihor Terekhov wrote on Telegram.One person was killed and three others were wounded when a guided aerial bomb hit a house in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, while six people were wounded in a missile strike on the city of Uman, local officials said Friday.Russian drone attacks on the city of Mykolaiv and its suburbs overnight into Friday left part of the city without power. Energy and port infrastructure were damaged by drones in the city of Odesa on the Black Sea.Meanwhile, Ukraine said that it struck a major Russian oil refinery on Thursday using U.K.-supplied Storm Shadow missiles.Ukraine’s General Staff said that its forces hit the Novoshakhtinsk refinery in Russia’s Rostov region.“Multiple explosions were recorded. The target was hit,” it wrote on Telegram.Rostov regional Gov. Yuri Slyusar said that a firefighter was wounded when extinguishing the fire.Ukraine’s long-range drone strikes on Russian refineries aim to deprive Moscow of the oil export revenue it needs to pursue its full-scale invasion. Russia wants to cripple Ukraine’s power grid, seeking to deny civilians access to heat, light and running water in what Ukrainian officials say is an attempt to “weaponize winter.”
KYIV, Ukraine —Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that he will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida over the weekend.
Related video above: Ukraine and U.S. discuss peace proposals on Christmas Day amid Russian attacks
Zelenskyy told journalists that the two leaders will discuss security guarantees for Ukraine during Sunday’s talks and that the 20-point plan under discussion “is about 90% ready.”
The meeting will take place at Mar-a-Lago.
An “economic agreement” also will be discussed, Zelenskyy said, but added that he was unable to confirm “whether anything will be finalized by the end.”
The Ukrainian side will also raise “territorial issues,” he said. Moscow has insisted that Ukraine relinquish the remaining territory it still holds in the Donbas — an ultimatum that Ukraine has rejected. Russia has captured most of Luhansk and about 70% of Donetsk — the two areas that make up the Donbas.
Zelenskyy said that Ukraine “would like the Europeans to be involved,” but doubted whether it would be possible at short notice.
“We must, without doubt, find some format in the near future in which not only Ukraine and the U.S. are present, but Europe is represented as well,” he said.
The announced meeting is the latest development in an extensive U.S.-led diplomatic push to end the nearly four-year Russia-Ukraine war, but efforts have run into sharply conflicting demands by Moscow and Kyiv.
Zelenskyy’s comments came after he said Thursday that he had a “good conversation” with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Friday that the Kremlin had already been in contact with U.S. representatives since Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev recently met with U.S. envoys in Florida.
“It was agreed upon to continue the dialogue,” he said.
Trump is engaged in a diplomatic push to end Russia’s all-out war, which began on Feb. 24, 2022, but his efforts have run into sharply conflicting demands by Moscow and Kyiv.
Zelenskyy said Tuesday that he would be willing to withdraw troops from Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland as part of a plan to end the war if Russia also pulls back and the area becomes a demilitarized zone monitored by international forces.
Though Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday that there had been “slow but steady progress” in the peace talks, Russia has given no indication that it will agree to any kind of withdrawal from land it has seized.
On the ground, two people were killed and six more wounded Friday when a guided aerial bomb hit a busy road and set cars aflame in Ukraine’s second biggest city, Kharkiv, mayor Ihor Terekhov wrote on Telegram.
One person was killed and three others were wounded when a guided aerial bomb hit a house in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, while six people were wounded in a missile strike on the city of Uman, local officials said Friday.
Russian drone attacks on the city of Mykolaiv and its suburbs overnight into Friday left part of the city without power. Energy and port infrastructure were damaged by drones in the city of Odesa on the Black Sea.
Meanwhile, Ukraine said that it struck a major Russian oil refinery on Thursday using U.K.-supplied Storm Shadow missiles.
Ukraine’s General Staff said that its forces hit the Novoshakhtinsk refinery in Russia’s Rostov region.
“Multiple explosions were recorded. The target was hit,” it wrote on Telegram.
Rostov regional Gov. Yuri Slyusar said that a firefighter was wounded when extinguishing the fire.
Ukraine’s long-range drone strikes on Russian refineries aim to deprive Moscow of the oil export revenue it needs to pursue its full-scale invasion. Russia wants to cripple Ukraine’s power grid, seeking to deny civilians access to heat, light and running water in what Ukrainian officials say is an attempt to “weaponize winter.”
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Russian Drones, Missiles Pound Ukraine Before Zelenskiy-Trump Meeting
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Dec 27 (Reuters) – Russia attacked Kyiv and other regions of Ukraine with missiles and drones on Saturday, ahead of what President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said would be a key meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump to work out a deal to end nearly four years of war.
Before the overnight attacks, Zelenskiy said his talks in Florida on Sunday would focus on the territory to be controlled by each side after a halt to the fighting that began in February 2022 with President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Russia’s smaller neighbour, Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two.
Explosions sounded in Kyiv as Ukraine’s air defence units went into action, and the military said on the Telegram messaging app that missiles were being deployed. The air force said Russian drones were targeting the capital and regions in the northeast and south.
An air raid alert remained in effect in the capital some four hours after being introduced. There were no immediate reports of damage or power cuts.
CONTROLLING TERRITORY IS DIPLOMATIC STUMBLING BLOCK
Russia made no immediate comment on the attacks.
On Thursday night, Russia struck Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and stepped up attacks on the southern region of Odesa, the site of Ukraine’s main seaports.
Amid the continued fierce fighting, territory remains the main diplomatic stumbling block. A 20-point draft in the U.S.-driven campaign to clinch a peace plan is 90% complete, Zelenskiy told journalists in Kyiv.
He said a security guarantee agreement between Ukraine and the U.S. was almost ready – a key element after guarantees in earlier post-Soviet years proved meaningless.
“A lot can be decided before the New Year,” Zelenskiy told Politico.
Trump said the United States was the driving force behind the process.
“He doesn’t have anything until I approve it,” Trump told Politico. “So we’ll see what he’s got.”
Zelenskiy told Axios the U.S. had offered a 15-year deal on security guarantees, subject to renewal, but Kyiv wanted a longer agreement with legally binding provisions to guard against further Russian aggression.
Trump said he believed Sunday’s meeting would go well. He also said he expected to speak with Putin “soon, as much as I want.”
NUCLEAR PLANT, FREE ECONOMIC ZONE ALSO AT ISSUE
In addition to territory, a critical point is control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, Europe’s largest, seized by Russia in the opening weeks of the war.
Moscow demands that Ukraine withdraw from the areas of the eastern region of Donetsk that Russian troops have failed to occupy in their drive to secure all of the Donbas, which also includes the Luhansk region.
Kyiv wants the fighting halted at the current lines.
Under a U.S. compromise, a free economic zone would be set up if Ukraine leaves parts of the Donetsk region, though details have yet to be worked out.
Axios quoted Zelenskiy as saying that if he is not able to push the U.S. to back Ukraine’s “strong” position on the land issue, he was willing to put the 20-point plan to a referendum – as long as Russia agrees to a 60-day ceasefire to allow Ukraine to prepare for and hold the vote.
He said he wanted more pressure applied to Russia.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Kyiv’s version of the 20-point plan differed from what Russia had been discussing with the U.S., according to Interfax-Russia news agency.
But he expressed optimism that matters had reached a “turning point” in the search for a settlement.
Putin’s foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, spoke with members of the Trump administration after Moscow received U.S. proposals about a possible peace deal, the Kremlin said on Friday. It did not disclose how Moscow had viewed the documents.
(Reporting by Ron Popeski; Editing by William Mallard)
Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.
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Ukrainian Capital Kyiv Under Massive Russian Attack, Officials Say
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Dec 27 (Reuters) – The Ukrainian capital Kyiv came under a massive Russian attack early on Saturday, with air defences in operation and the military warning of the impending deployment of missiles.
Reuters eyewitnesses said air defences were in action in the city. A military Telegram channel said cruise and ballistic missiles were being deployed.
(Reporting by Ron Popeski; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.
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Trump-Zelenskyy talks will address security guarantees, reconstruction, Ukraine leader says
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that he will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida over the weekend.Related video above: Ukraine and U.S. discuss peace proposals on Christmas Day amid Russian attacksZelenskyy told journalists that the two leaders will discuss security guarantees for Ukraine during Sunday’s talks and that the 20-point plan under discussion “is about 90% ready.”An “economic agreement” also will be discussed, Zelenskyy said, but added that he was unable to confirm “whether anything will be finalized by the end.”The Ukrainian side will also raise “territorial issues,” he said. Moscow has insisted that Ukraine relinquish the remaining territory it still holds in the Donbas — an ultimatum that Ukraine has rejected. Russia has captured most of Luhansk and about 70% of Donetsk — the two areas that make up the Donbas.Zelenskyy said that Ukraine “would like the Europeans to be involved,” but doubted whether it would be possible at short notice.“We must, without doubt, find some format in the near future in which not only Ukraine and the U.S. are present, but Europe is represented as well,” he said.The announced meeting is the latest development in an extensive U.S.-led diplomatic push to end the nearly four-year Russia-Ukraine war, but efforts have run into sharply conflicting demands by Moscow and Kyiv.Zelenskyy’s comments came after he said Thursday that he had a “good conversation” with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Friday that the Kremlin had already been in contact with U.S. representatives since Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev recently met with U.S. envoys in Florida.“It was agreed upon to continue the dialogue,” he said.Trump is engaged in a diplomatic push to end Russia’s all-out war, which began on Feb. 24, 2022, but his efforts have run into sharply conflicting demands by Moscow and Kyiv. Zelenskyy said Tuesday that he would be willing to withdraw troops from Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland as part of a plan to end the war if Russia also pulls back and the area becomes a demilitarized zone monitored by international forces.Though Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday that there had been “slow but steady progress” in the peace talks, Russia has given no indication that it will agree to any kind of withdrawal from land it has seized.On the ground, two people were killed and six more wounded Friday when a guided aerial bomb hit a busy road and set cars aflame in Ukraine’s second biggest city, Kharkiv, mayor Ihor Terekhov wrote on Telegram.One person was killed and three others were wounded when a guided aerial bomb hit a house in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, while six people were wounded in a missile strike on the city of Uman, local officials said Friday.Russian drone attacks on the city of Mykolaiv and its suburbs overnight into Friday left part of the city without power. Energy and port infrastructure were damaged by drones in the city of Odesa on the Black Sea.Meanwhile, Ukraine said that it struck a major Russian oil refinery on Thursday using U.K.-supplied Storm Shadow missiles.Ukraine’s General Staff said that its forces hit the Novoshakhtinsk refinery in Russia’s Rostov region.“Multiple explosions were recorded. The target was hit,” it wrote on Telegram.Rostov regional Gov. Yuri Slyusar said that a firefighter was wounded when extinguishing the fire.Ukraine’s long-range drone strikes on Russian refineries aim to deprive Moscow of the oil export revenue it needs to pursue its full-scale invasion. Russia wants to cripple Ukraine’s power grid, seeking to deny civilians access to heat, light and running water in what Ukrainian officials say is an attempt to “weaponize winter.”
KYIV, Ukraine —Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that he will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida over the weekend.
Related video above: Ukraine and U.S. discuss peace proposals on Christmas Day amid Russian attacks
Zelenskyy told journalists that the two leaders will discuss security guarantees for Ukraine during Sunday’s talks and that the 20-point plan under discussion “is about 90% ready.”
An “economic agreement” also will be discussed, Zelenskyy said, but added that he was unable to confirm “whether anything will be finalized by the end.”
The Ukrainian side will also raise “territorial issues,” he said. Moscow has insisted that Ukraine relinquish the remaining territory it still holds in the Donbas — an ultimatum that Ukraine has rejected. Russia has captured most of Luhansk and about 70% of Donetsk — the two areas that make up the Donbas.
Zelenskyy said that Ukraine “would like the Europeans to be involved,” but doubted whether it would be possible at short notice.
“We must, without doubt, find some format in the near future in which not only Ukraine and the U.S. are present, but Europe is represented as well,” he said.
The announced meeting is the latest development in an extensive U.S.-led diplomatic push to end the nearly four-year Russia-Ukraine war, but efforts have run into sharply conflicting demands by Moscow and Kyiv.
Zelenskyy’s comments came after he said Thursday that he had a “good conversation” with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Friday that the Kremlin had already been in contact with U.S. representatives since Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev recently met with U.S. envoys in Florida.
“It was agreed upon to continue the dialogue,” he said.
Trump is engaged in a diplomatic push to end Russia’s all-out war, which began on Feb. 24, 2022, but his efforts have run into sharply conflicting demands by Moscow and Kyiv.
Zelenskyy said Tuesday that he would be willing to withdraw troops from Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland as part of a plan to end the war if Russia also pulls back and the area becomes a demilitarized zone monitored by international forces.
Though Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday that there had been “slow but steady progress” in the peace talks, Russia has given no indication that it will agree to any kind of withdrawal from land it has seized.
On the ground, two people were killed and six more wounded Friday when a guided aerial bomb hit a busy road and set cars aflame in Ukraine’s second biggest city, Kharkiv, mayor Ihor Terekhov wrote on Telegram.
One person was killed and three others were wounded when a guided aerial bomb hit a house in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, while six people were wounded in a missile strike on the city of Uman, local officials said Friday.
Russian drone attacks on the city of Mykolaiv and its suburbs overnight into Friday left part of the city without power. Energy and port infrastructure were damaged by drones in the city of Odesa on the Black Sea.
Meanwhile, Ukraine said that it struck a major Russian oil refinery on Thursday using U.K.-supplied Storm Shadow missiles.
Ukraine’s General Staff said that its forces hit the Novoshakhtinsk refinery in Russia’s Rostov region.
“Multiple explosions were recorded. The target was hit,” it wrote on Telegram.
Rostov regional Gov. Yuri Slyusar said that a firefighter was wounded when extinguishing the fire.
Ukraine’s long-range drone strikes on Russian refineries aim to deprive Moscow of the oil export revenue it needs to pursue its full-scale invasion. Russia wants to cripple Ukraine’s power grid, seeking to deny civilians access to heat, light and running water in what Ukrainian officials say is an attempt to “weaponize winter.”
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Ukraine, US discuss peace proposals on Christmas Day amid Russian attacks
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with U.S. representatives on Christmas Day about ongoing peace proposals after Russia launched a deadly attack on Ukraine.Zelenskyy said in a video message that he had “a good conversation” with U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, during which they drafted new ideas about how to bring about real peace.This comes after Russia fired more than 600 drones and three dozen missiles at Ukraine earlier this week, killing at least three people, including a 4-year-old child. The attack caused significant damage, collapsing homes and knocking out the power grid in 13 regions of Ukraine, leading to widespread outages in bitter cold temperatures.The strikes are “an extremely clear signal of Russian priorities,” Zelenskyy said. In Rome, Pope Leo XIV delivered his first Christmas message as pontiff, condemning the violence and praying for the fighting to end.”Let us pray in a particular way for the tormented people of Ukraine. May the clamor of weapons cease and may the parties involved with the support and commitment of the international community find the courage to engage in sincere, direct and respectful dialogue,” the pope said. Leaders in Ukraine will continue to speak with U.S. representatives Friday. Additionally, Zelenskyy said on social media that Ukraine agreed to a meeting with Trump in the near future.Keep watching for the latest from the Washington News Bureau:
WASHINGTON —Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with U.S. representatives on Christmas Day about ongoing peace proposals after Russia launched a deadly attack on Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said in a video message that he had “a good conversation” with U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, during which they drafted new ideas about how to bring about real peace.
This comes after Russia fired more than 600 drones and three dozen missiles at Ukraine earlier this week, killing at least three people, including a 4-year-old child.
The attack caused significant damage, collapsing homes and knocking out the power grid in 13 regions of Ukraine, leading to widespread outages in bitter cold temperatures.
The strikes are “an extremely clear signal of Russian priorities,” Zelenskyy said.
In Rome, Pope Leo XIV delivered his first Christmas message as pontiff, condemning the violence and praying for the fighting to end.
“Let us pray in a particular way for the tormented people of Ukraine. May the clamor of weapons cease and may the parties involved with the support and commitment of the international community find the courage to engage in sincere, direct and respectful dialogue,” the pope said.
Leaders in Ukraine will continue to speak with U.S. representatives Friday. Additionally, Zelenskyy said on social media that Ukraine agreed to a meeting with Trump in the near future.
Keep watching for the latest from the Washington News Bureau:
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Zelenskyy says he and Trump have agreed to meet
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Kyiv, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that he’ll meet with President Trump “in the near future,” signaling progress in talks to end the nearly four-year war between Russia and Ukraine.
“We are not losing a single day. We have agreed on a meeting at the highest level – with President Trump in the near future,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media. “A lot can be decided before the New Year,” he added.
Zelenskyy’s announcement came after he said Thursday he had a “good conversation” with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Mr. Trump has unleashed an extensive diplomatic push to end the war, but his efforts have run into sharply conflicting demands by Moscow and Kyiv.
Zelenskyy said Tuesday he would be willing to withdraw troops from the country’s eastern industrial heartland as part of a plan to end the war, if Moscow also pulls back and the area becomes a demilitarized zone monitored by international forces.
Though Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday that there had been “slow but steady progress” in the peace talks, Russia has given no indication that it will agree to any kind of withdrawal from land it has seized.
In fact, Moscow has insisted that Ukraine relinquish the remaining territory it still holds in the Donbas – an ultimatum that Ukraine has rejected. Russia has captured most of Luhansk and about 70% of Donetsk – the two areas that make up the Donbas.
U.S. envoys have been holding talks with the Russian side as well. Kirill Dmitriev, who heads Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, traveled to Miami for meetings last weekend.
Despite the talks, in the days leading up to Christmas, Russia kept up its missile and drone bombardment of Ukrainian cities, while a Russian general was killed in a car bomb explosion in Moscow.
Overnight into Friday, Russian drone attacks on Mykolaiv and its suburbs left part of the city without power.
Meanwhile, Ukraine said it struck a major Russian oil refinery Thursday using British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles.
Ukraine’s General Staff said its forces hit the Novoshakhtinsk refinery in Russia’s Rostov region. “Multiple explosions were recorded. The target was hit,” it wrote on Telegram.
Rostov regional Gov. Yuri Slyusar said a firefighter was wounded when extinguishing the fire.
Ukraine’s long-range drone strikes on Russian refineries aim to deprive Moscow of the oil export revenue it needs to pursue its full-scale invasion. Russia wants to cripple the Ukrainian power grid, seeking to deny civilians access to heat, light and running water in what Kyiv officials say is an attempt to “weaponize winter.”
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Zelenskiy Says ‘A Lot’ Can Be Decided Before New Year Ahead of Trump Meeting
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KYIV, Dec 26 (Reuters) – Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday he planned to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump soon and that a lot could be decided before the New Year as Washington pushes diplomatic efforts to end the war with Russia.
Zelenskiy has said that sensitive issues, including any compromises on territory, should be discussed at the level of heads of state, and Kyiv has been seeking a face-to-face meeting with Trump.
“We have agreed on a meeting at the highest level – with President Trump in the near future. A lot can be decided before the New Year,” he said on X following the latest round of talks between Ukrainian and U.S. negotiators.
Zelenskiy held talks on Thursday with Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
He said that some documents, part of a wider framework aimed at ending the conflict and ensuring Ukraine’s reconstruction, were “nearly ready” while others were “fully prepared”.
Earlier this week, Zelenskiy unveiled a 20-point draft peace plan that he described as the main framework for ending the war.
While the plan outlined Ukraine receiving security guarantees to prevent further Russian aggression, there was no compromise between Ukraine and the U.S. on the issues of territory, which Moscow is demanding Kyiv cede.
Control over the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant also remained the matter of further discussion.
(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Joe Bavier)
Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.
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Zelenskyy says he had
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Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that he had “a very good conversation” with President Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on Christmas Day.
He said they discussed “certain substantive details of the ongoing work” on a potential peace deal with Russia, though he did not specify what issues they talked about.
“I thank them for the constructive approach, the intensive work, and the kind words and Christmas greetings to the Ukrainian people,” Zelenskyy said in a statement posted on X. “We are truly working 24/7 to bring closer the end of this brutal Russian war against Ukraine.”
CBS News has reached out to the White House for comment on the talks.
Zelenskyy said he was joined on the call by Ukraine’s national security adviser Rustem Umerov and other members of his diplomatic team. He said Umerov would be speaking with Witkoff and Kushner again later in the day.
He added, “I also asked the guys to pass along our Christmas greetings to Donald Trump and the entire Trump family. Thank you!”
U.S. envoys have been holding talks with the Russian side as well. Kirill Dmitriev, who heads Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, traveled to Miami for meetings last weekend.
Despite the talks, in the days leading up to the holiday, Russia kept up its missile and drone bombardment of Ukrainian cities, while a Russian general was killed in a car bomb explosion in Moscow.
Earlier this week, Zelenskyy said he would be willing to withdraw troops from the country’s eastern industrial heartland as part of a plan to end the war, if Moscow also pulls back and the area becomes a demilitarized zone monitored by international forces.
The proposal offered a potential compromise on control of the Donbas region, which has been a major sticking point in peace negotiations. Moscow has captured most, but not all, of the Donbas and has insisted that Ukraine relinquish the remaining territory— an ultimatum that Ukraine has rejected.
Zelenskyy said the U.S. has proposed making it a “free economic zone,” but it was unclear what that idea would mean for governance or development of the region.
A similar arrangement could be possible for the area around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is currently under Russian control, Zelenskyy said. He said any peace plan would need to be put to a referendum.
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Ukrainian Drones Hit Oil and Gas Facilities in Russia, SBU Official Says
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Ukrainian long-range drones hit oil product tanks in the Russian port of Temryuk and a gas processing plant in Russia’s Orenburg, an official at the SBU security service told Reuters on Thursday.
“The SBU continues to target facilities in the Russian oil and gas sector systematically. Each of these strikes hits the Russian budget, reduces foreign currency revenues, and complicates logistics and fuel supplies for the army,” the official said.
(Reporting by Tom Balmforth; Writing by Olena Harmash; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.
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Major Russian drone, missile attack on Ukraine kills at least 3 people, cuts power
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Russia fired more than 600 drones and three dozen missiles at Ukraine in a large-scale attack that began during the night and stretched into daylight hours Tuesday, officials said. At least three people were killed, including a 4-year-old child, two days before Christmas.The barrage struck homes and the power grid in 13 regions of Ukraine, causing widespread outages in bitter temperatures, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, a day after he described recent progress on finding a peace deal as “quite solid.”The bombardment demonstrated Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intention of pursuing the invasion of Ukraine, Zelenskyy said in a post on the Telegram messaging app. Ukrainian and European officials have complained that Putin is not sincerely engaging with U.S.-led peace efforts.The attack “is an extremely clear signal of Russian priorities,” Zelenskyy said. “A strike before Christmas, when people want to be with their families, at home, in safety. A strike, in fact, in the midst of negotiations that are being conducted to end this war. Putin cannot accept the fact that we must stop killing.”For months, U.S. President Donald Trump has been pressing for a peace agreement, but the negotiations have become entangled in the very different demands from Moscow and Kyiv.U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said Sunday he held “productive and constructive” talks in Florida with Ukrainian and European representatives. Trump was less effusive Monday, saying, “The talks are going along.”Initial reports from Ukrainian emergency services said the child died in Ukraine’s northwestern Zhytomyr region, while a drone killed a woman in the Kyiv region, and another civilian death was recorded in the western Khmelnytskyi region, according to Zelenskyy.Russia launched 635 drones of various types and 38 missiles, Ukraine’s air force said. Air defenses stopped 587 drones and 34 missiles, it said.It was the ninth large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine’s energy system this year and left multiple regions in the west without power, while emergency power outages were in place across the country, acting Energy Minister Artem Nekraso said. Work to restore power would begin as soon as the security situation permitted, he said.Ukraine’s largest private energy supplier, DTEK, said the attack targeted thermal power stations in what it said was the seventh major strike on the company’s facilities since October.DTEK’s thermal power plants have been hit more than 220 times since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022. Those attacks have killed four workers and wounded 59.Authorities in the western regions of Rivne, Ternopil and Lviv, as well as the northern Sumy region, reported damage to energy infrastructure or power outages after the attack.In the southern Odesa region, Russia struck energy, port, transport, industrial and residential infrastructure, according to regional head Oleh Kiper.A merchant ship and over 120 homes were damaged, he said.
KYIV, Ukraine —Russia fired more than 600 drones and three dozen missiles at Ukraine in a large-scale attack that began during the night and stretched into daylight hours Tuesday, officials said. At least three people were killed, including a 4-year-old child, two days before Christmas.
The barrage struck homes and the power grid in 13 regions of Ukraine, causing widespread outages in bitter temperatures, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, a day after he described recent progress on finding a peace deal as “quite solid.”
The bombardment demonstrated Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intention of pursuing the invasion of Ukraine, Zelenskyy said in a post on the Telegram messaging app. Ukrainian and European officials have complained that Putin is not sincerely engaging with U.S.-led peace efforts.
The attack “is an extremely clear signal of Russian priorities,” Zelenskyy said. “A strike before Christmas, when people want to be with their families, at home, in safety. A strike, in fact, in the midst of negotiations that are being conducted to end this war. Putin cannot accept the fact that we must stop killing.”
For months, U.S. President Donald Trump has been pressing for a peace agreement, but the negotiations have become entangled in the very different demands from Moscow and Kyiv.
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said Sunday he held “productive and constructive” talks in Florida with Ukrainian and European representatives. Trump was less effusive Monday, saying, “The talks are going along.”
Initial reports from Ukrainian emergency services said the child died in Ukraine’s northwestern Zhytomyr region, while a drone killed a woman in the Kyiv region, and another civilian death was recorded in the western Khmelnytskyi region, according to Zelenskyy.
Russia launched 635 drones of various types and 38 missiles, Ukraine’s air force said. Air defenses stopped 587 drones and 34 missiles, it said.
It was the ninth large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine’s energy system this year and left multiple regions in the west without power, while emergency power outages were in place across the country, acting Energy Minister Artem Nekraso said. Work to restore power would begin as soon as the security situation permitted, he said.
Ukraine’s largest private energy supplier, DTEK, said the attack targeted thermal power stations in what it said was the seventh major strike on the company’s facilities since October.
DTEK’s thermal power plants have been hit more than 220 times since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022. Those attacks have killed four workers and wounded 59.
Authorities in the western regions of Rivne, Ternopil and Lviv, as well as the northern Sumy region, reported damage to energy infrastructure or power outages after the attack.
In the southern Odesa region, Russia struck energy, port, transport, industrial and residential infrastructure, according to regional head Oleh Kiper.
A merchant ship and over 120 homes were damaged, he said.
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