Eager to please Trump, Kyiv and Moscow have ostensibly welcomed the peace plan and the push to end the war. But Russia has continued attacking Ukraine and reiterated its maximalist demands, indicating a deal is still a ways off.
Vladimir Putin implied last week that he will fight as a long as it takes to achieve his goals, saying that he will stop only when Ukrainian troops withdraw from all four Ukrainian regions that Russia illegally annexed in 2022 and still doesn’t fully control.
“If they don’t withdraw, we’ll achieve this by force. That’s all,” he said.
The plan, Putin said, “could form the basis for future agreements,” but it is in no way final and requires “a serious discussion”.
Volodymyr Zelensky has refrained from talking about individual points, opting instead to thank Trump profusely for his efforts and emphasizing the need for Europe – whose interests are more closely aligned with Ukraine’s – to be involved.
He also has stressed the importance of robust security guarantees for Ukraine.
The first version of the plan granted some core Russian demands that Ukraine considers nonstarters, such as ceding land to Moscow that it doesn’t yet occupy and renouncing its bid to become a member of Nato.
Zelensky has said repeatedly that giving up territory is not an option. One of the Ukrainian negotiators, Bevz, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Ukraine’s president wanted to discuss the territory issue with Trump directly. Yermak then told The Atlantic in an interview on Thursday that Zelensky would not sign over the land.
Zelensky also maintains that Nato membership is the cheapest way to guarantee Ukraine’s security, and Nato’s 32 member countries said last year that Ukraine is on an “irreversible” path to membership. Since he took office, Trump has made it clear that Nato membership is off the table.
Moscow, in turn, has bristled at any suggestion of a Western peacekeeping force on the ground in Ukraine, and stressed that keeping Ukraine out of Nato and Nato out of Ukraine was one of the core goals of the war.
Namita Singh1 December 2025 05:42
US holds talks with Kyiv – then on to Moscow
Donald Trump’s representatives met with Ukrainian officials over the weekend and plan to meet with the Russians later this week.
Ukraine’s national security council head Rustem Umerov, the head of Ukraine’s armed forces Andrii Hnatov, presidential adviser Oleksandr Bevz and others met with US officials for about four hours in Florida on Sunday.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio said the session was productive but more work remains to be done. Umerov praised the US for its support but offered no details on outcomes from the talks.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Rustem Umerov, Secretary of the National Security of Ukraine shake hands Sunday, 30 November 2025 (AP)
Volodymyr Zelensky’s former chief of staff and former lead negotiator for Ukraine, Andrii Yermak, resigned on Friday amid a corruption scandal and is no longer part of the negotiating team. It was only a week ago that Rubio met with Yermak in Geneva, resulting in a revised peace plan.
Trump said last week that he would send his envoy Steve Witkoff to Russia. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed Putin will host Witkoff for talks “in the first half” of the week.
Trump suggested he could eventually meet with Putin and Zelensky, but not until there has been more progress.
Witkoff’s role in the peace efforts came under scrutiny last week following a report that he coached Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, on how Russia’s leader should pitch Trump on the Ukraine peace plan.
Both Moscow and Washington downplayed the significance of the revelations.
Namita Singh1 December 2025 05:12
Zelensky to make first official visit to Ireland
Volodymyr Zelensky will travel to Ireland on Monday for his first official visit to the country, the Irish prime minister has announced.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the Ukrainian president will be joined by first lady Olena Zelenska for meetings with him, Irish president Catherine Connolly and foreign minister Helen McEntee.
Martin and Zelensky will also hold a bilateral discussion before attending the launch of the Ireland–Ukraine Economic Forum, created to deepen commercial ties between the two countries through business links, trade and investment.
“It is an honour to welcome President Zelensky and the First Lady to Ireland,” the Taoiseach said ahead of the visit.
“Around the world, he is rightly recognised as someone who embodies the courage and resilience of the Ukrainian people, who have inspired the world in their brave defence of their country and its sovereignty since it was brutally and illegally invaded by Russia.
“I have met with President Zelensky many times, including in Kyiv, but I particularly look forward to greeting him on this first official visit of a Ukrainian president to Ireland.”
Ireland has been a firm supporter of Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, granting refuge to around 120,000 Ukrainians fleeing the war.
Namita Singh1 December 2025 04:51
Ukrainian sea drones strike two Russian ‘shadow fleet’ tankers in the Black Sea
Ukrainian naval drones have struck two tankers linked to Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” as they moved through the Black Sea, in what appears to be a sharp escalation of Kyiv’s efforts to target the revenue fuelling Moscow’s war.
Video has emerged purporting to show fast-moving waterborne drones slamming into the vessels and erupting into fireballs, sending thick plumes of smoke into the sky.
This video grab taken from images released by the Security service of Ukraine (SBU) on 29 November 2025, shows smoke rising from a cargo ship on fire in the Black Sea off the Turkish coast, amid the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict (AFP)
Turkish authorities identified the ships as the Kairos and the Virat, both sailing under the flag of the Gambia. The Kairos was hit off Turkey’s south-western coast on Friday and the Virat in a central area farther east; the Virat was reportedly struck a second time on Saturday. No crew injuries were reported.
Flames and thick smoke rise from a tanker after blasts rocked two vessels from Russia’s shadow fleet in the Black Sea near Turkey (Reuters)
The tankers are understood to belong to Russia’s “shadow fleet” – a term used for hundreds of older or obscurely owned ships that transport Russian oil in defiance of Western sanctions imposed after the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Data from the London Stock Exchange shows both vessels are already listed as subject to sanctions.
Ukraine used Sea Baby naval drones, a type of explosive-laden craft developed by the country’s security service, the SBU, for maritime attacks. Turkish officials said rescue teams had been supporting the damaged tankers and released video of Turkish boats attempting to extinguish the blaze aboard the Kairos.
The strikes serve as a pointed warning from Kyiv that ships moving Russian oil through the Black Sea could face direct attack, not merely financial restrictions.
In a separate incident, a key pipeline operator said it had halted loading at the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk after an overnight assault by unmanned boats damaged one of its mooring points.
The Caspian Pipeline Consortium – majority-owned by Russia and Kazakhstan, with additional stakes held by Western energy giants including Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Shell – said the damage was significant.
Namita Singh1 December 2025 04:16
Peace talks going along well, says Trump
President Trump said that talks about a peace deal with Russia were ‘going along well’ hours after secretary of state Marco Rubio met with Ukrainian officials and expressed optimism about progress despite challenges ending the war.
“They are going along and they are going along well,” he told Reuters. “We want to stop people from being killed.”On being asked about his interaction with Marco Rubio over the peace negotiations, he said: “I have spoken to them. They are doing well.
“Ukraine’s got some difficult little problems,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday, referring to the corruption scandal, which he said was “not helpful.”
He repeated his view that both Russia and Ukraine wanted to end the war and said there was a good chance a deal could be reached.
Namita Singh1 December 2025 04:00
Zelensky hails Trump’s commitment to ‘steps to end the war’
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday expressed cautious optimism about the latest round of discussions between Kyiv and Washington, describing the ongoing diplomatic engagement as both “constructive” and deeply focused on Ukraine’s core interests.
According to Zelensky, Ukrainian defence minister Rustem Umerov reported back to him on “some preliminary results” from the talks in the United States.
Zelensky emphasised that “it is important that the talks have a constructive dynamic and that all issues were discussed openly and with a clear focus on ensuring Ukraine’s sovereignty and national interests”.
The president also underscored Ukraine’s appreciation for the level of engagement from Washington. He thanked the United States – specifically President Trump’s team, and the former president himself – for the “intensive” effort being invested into charting a path toward ending the war.
“I am grateful to the United States, to President Trump’s team, and to the President personally for the time that is being invested so intensively in defining the steps to end the war,” Zelensky said.
Namita Singh1 December 2025 03:28
Russian drone attacks kill one and wound several
At least one person was killed and 19 others wounded in Russian drone and missile strikes, as US and Ukrainian officials met for peace talks.
President Volodymyr Zelensky claims Russia bombarded Ukraine with 122 drone strikes and two ballistic missiles.
It comes as Turkey condemned Ukraine’s use of a sea drone to target Russian oil tankers in the Black Sea.
People walk past damaged shops in front of a residential building on fire following a Russian drone attack on the city of Vyshhorod, in the Kyiv region early on 30 November 2025 (AFP via Getty Images)
Namita Singh1 December 2025 03:15
Watch: Rubio says US-Ukraine talks on Russia war ‘productive’ but much work remainsRubio says US-Ukraine talks on Russia war ‘productive’ but much work remains
Alex Croft1 December 2025 03:00
Trump officials try to reassure Ukraine’s negotiators over peace deal
A delegation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s advisers and top officials met with lead U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Miami on Sunday ahead of a trip to meet with Russian leaders, including Vladimir Putin, on Tuesday.
On the agenda is the 28-point peace plan proposed by the U.S. this month, which has drawn apparent skepticism from both Ukraine and its European allies, given reports that it drew heavily from a Russian-authored plan submitted to the State Department in October.
Alex Croft1 December 2025 02:00
US ‘super supportive’, says Ukrainian delegate
Ukraine’s secretary of national security had thanked the US and its officials for their support earlier on Sunday.
“US is hearing us, US is supporting us, US is walking besides us,” Rustem Umerov said in English before the talks began.
After the meeting, he declared it productive. “We discussed all the important matters that are important for Ukraine, for Ukrainian people and US was super supportive,” he said.
(AFP/Getty)
Tom Barnes1 December 2025 01:04