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Amid the intensified diplomatic push to end the Ukraine war, Volodymyr Zelenskyy<\/strong> has said the Kremlin\u2019s claims of battlefield advances are exaggerated and that Kyiv\u2019s priorities remain security guarantees, sovereignty and territorial integrity.<\/p>\n The Ukrainian president also insisted that Russia must not get rewards for its aggression on Ukraine<\/a>.<\/p>\n As Warren Murray<\/a> reports in today\u2019s Ukraine war briefing, Zelenskyy said in Paris that he hoped to have talks with Donald Trump<\/strong> to discuss next steps once Steve Witkoff was back from his talks in Russia.<\/p>\n Zelenskyy also said that after revisions the peace plan circulating between Ukraine, Russia<\/a> and Washington \u201clooks better\u201d and the work would continue.<\/p>\n But as mentioned, the European Union is warning that the Putin-Wifkoff talks will again pile pressure on Ukraine to make concessions. The EU\u2019s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas<\/strong>, said:<\/p>\n In order to have peace, we shouldn\u2019t lose focus that it\u2019s actually Russia who has started this war and Russia that is continuing this war and Russia that is really targeting civilians, civilian infrastructure every single day to cause as much damage as possible.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The EU\u2019s Kaja Kallas. Photograph: Olivier Hoslet\/EPA<\/p>\n You can read the full war briefing here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.28 EST<\/p>\n The Kremlin has said Vladimir<\/strong> Putin<\/strong> will meet Steve<\/strong> Witkoff<\/strong> for their talks on Tuesday afternoon. It\u2019s now approaching 9.10am local time in Moscow.<\/p>\n Their meeting would take \u201cin the second half of the day\u201d, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov<\/strong> said, while refusing to be drawn on Russia\u2019s red lines, saying megaphone diplomacy was not helpful.<\/p>\n As a reminder, the talks also come against backdrop of Witkoff coming under fire recently after reportedly advising a Kremlin official last month that achieving peace in Ukraine would require Russia gaining control of Donetsk and potentially a separate territorial exchange, according to a recording of their conversation<\/a> obtained by Bloomberg.<\/p>\n In the 14 October phone call with Yuri Ushakov<\/strong>, the top foreign policy aide to Putin, Witkoff said he believed the land concessions were necessary while advising Ushakov to congratulate Trump and frame discussions more optimistically.<\/p>\n As Joseph Gedeon<\/strong> and Hugo Lowell <\/strong>reported, the recording provided a direct insight into Witkoff\u2019s negotiating approach and appeared to reveal the origins of the controversial US 28-point peace proposal that emerged earlier in November.<\/p>\n Their story can be seen here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.11 EST<\/p>\n Opening summary<\/p>\n Hello and welcome to our live coverage of war in Ukraine as Donald Trump<\/strong>\u2019s special envoy Steve Witkoff<\/strong> is to meet Russian president Vladimir Putin<\/strong> in Moscow amid Washington\u2019s push to reach a peace deal.<\/p>\n Witkoff\u2019s trip comes after he led a US delegation in talks with Ukraine<\/a> at the weekend in Florida, three and a half years after Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion.<\/p>\n The US has been upbeat about the prospects of reaching a deal to end the war, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt<\/strong> telling reporters on Monday: \u201cI think the administration feels very optimistic.\u201d<\/p>\n But Kyiv\u2019s European allies have expressed concern that the US peace plan gives too much to Moscow\u2019s maximalist demands. The EU\u2019s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas<\/strong>, said she feared the Putin-Witkoff talks on Tuesday would pile pressure on Ukraine<\/a> to make concessions.<\/p>\n Witkoff \u2013 Trump\u2019s business partner turned roving envoy \u2013 was expected to arrive in Russia<\/a> with Trump\u2019s son-in-law, Jared Kushner<\/strong>. The Kremlin did not say if Kushner would also attend the meeting with Putin.<\/p>\n In other developments:<\/p>\n Russian military commanders told Putin in comments reported on Monday that Russian forces had captured the frontline Ukrainian towns of Pokrovsk<\/a> \u2013 a key logistics hub \u2013 and Vovchansk<\/strong> and were advancing elsewhere, which the Russian president hailed as successes to enable further gains. Ukrainian officials have made no acknowledgement that either place has fallen into Russian hands.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Pokrovsk in a file picture. The embattled eastern town has been described as the gateway to the Donbas region. <\/strong> Photograph: Julia Kochetova\/The Guardian<\/p>\n Zelenskyy said on Monday that Russia must not be rewarded for its invasion<\/strong>. \u201cWe also need to ensure that Russia itself does not perceive anything it could consider as a reward for this war,\u201d the Ukrainian said a press conference with the French president, Emmanuel Macron.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n The Ukrainian president also held calls with a dozen other leaders<\/strong>, including the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, and the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, as he sought to rally support from European allies. \u201cPeace must become truly durable,\u201d Zelenskyy wrote on X. \u201cThe war must end as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Ukraine\u2019s negotiator Rustem Umerov said \u201csignificant progress\u201d had been achieved<\/strong> in two days of talks with Witkoff and other US officials in Florida but that more work was needed on \u201cchallenging\u201d issues.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n The Moscow talks also come as Kyiv has faced headwinds from a corruption scandal<\/strong> that has rocked Zelenskyy\u2019s inner circle and forced the dismissal <\/a>last week of his top negotiator and chief of staff, Andriy Yermak.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n\n
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