Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kremlin sinks Trump’s hope of peace deal by Thanksgiving

President Donald Trump has claimed that “big progress” is being made in negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.

It includes respect for Ukraine’s territorial integrity, freedom to advance its Nato ambitions and EU membership aspirations and maintain a large military to deter the threat of future Russian aggression.

Several countries and high-profile individuals are involved in the discussions, which have resulted in public disagreements. The Independent looks at some of the key characters:

South African police say they are investigating allegations that former President Jacob Zuma ‘s daughter Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla lured 17 men who are now trapped in Russia into fighting in that country’s war with Ukraine without their consent.

According to police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe, an affidavit filed by Zuma-Sambudla’s sister Nkosazana Bonganini Zuma-Mncube alleges that Zuma-Sambudla and two other people lured the men by claiming they would receive security training in Russia.

Details about the two others were not immediately clear.

The affidavit alleges they were handed over to a Russian mercenary group and forced to fight in the war. It also says eight of the 17 men were members of the sisters’ family.

Mathe said Sunday that any police charges “are still to be determined through a thorough investigation.”

Russian air defences intercepted multiple drones targeting Moscow and surrounding regions on Monday, just a day after a Ukrainian strike on a power station left thousands without heating outside the capital.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that eight drones were shot down en route to the city, with emergency services deployed to the sites.

This followed an earlier statement from the Russian Defence Ministry, which claimed ten Ukrainian drones had been downed across three regions – Moscow, Kaluga, and Bryansk, which borders Ukraine.

Yvette Cooper has urged Russia to now come to the table as she welcomed progress in the peace talks.

The UK’s foreign secretary said: “This morning I co-chaired a meeting with European foreign ministers and with the Ukrainian foreign minister, and we reaffirmed our support for a just and lasting peace for Ukraine, that upholds Ukraine’s sovereignty and also protects Europe’s security.

“That is why this work is so important and why the intensive work is still ongoing.”

She added: “Of course, there is a lot more work still to do but the key thing is that Russia now needs to come to the table, to stop the bombardment of Ukraine as we saw again last night.

“We need that just and lasting peace for the people of Ukraine.”

The 28-point proposal would see Kyiv give up land while compensating the US for upholding peace. It would also see a formal end to Ukraine’s ambitions to join Nato and the European Union.

In addition, European allies would agree not to station troops in the country, and limits would be placed on Ukraine’s military capabilities, according to the deal.

The first move is immediate Nato membership for Ukraine, for Georgia and for Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The idea would probably be vetoed immediately by the US, along with Hungary and Slovenia which are run by pro-Putin autocrats.

But a non-Nato, Nato-style alliance of the West would be a powerful entity that would give Putin pause for thought if it acted together and with the sort of confidence the Kremlin has shown on the world stage.

European officials said Monday they were comforted by the outcome of discussions on U.S. peace proposals for Ukraine that they had viewed as tilted in Russia‘s favor, but they didn’t disclose details of the weekend talks and warned of a long road to peace.

“The negotiations were a step forward, but there are still major issues which remain to be resolved,” Finnish President Alexander Stubb wrote on social platform X about Sunday’s meeting in Switzerland between U.S. and Ukrainian officials.

Zia Yusuf, the party’s former chair and key member of Reform’s leadership, claimed that it was “unreasonable” to link Gill’s crime with the softer stance that the party and Mr Farage have taken on Vladimir Putin’s Russia and its criticism of the Ukraine war.

Mr Yusuf described Gill as “treasonous, horrific, awful” in an interview with Sir Trevor Phillips on his Sunday morning political show on Sky News.

Xi Jinping urged “all parties to reduce [their] differences” during a call with US president Donald Trump today.

A White House official confirmed the Chinese president had spoken with Trump by phone.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has outlined the UK’s priorities when supporting a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.

“Talks in Geneva are ongoing, and we are making progress, and that is a good thing,” he said on Monday.

“Everybody is absolutely focused on what we need to get out of this, and that is a just and lasting peace.

“Both of those words matter. It’s got to be just, and obviously matters for Ukraine have to be determined by Ukraine, but it’s also got to be lasting, and it’s got to endure.

“So that’s the focus. There’s more work to do.”

He added that a “coalition of the willing” would meet virtually on Tuesday, led by Starmer and French president Emmanuel Macron.