Smoke rises from a heavily damaged train station building in the town of Fastiv, Kyiv region, after an air attack, on December 6, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine
| Photo Credit: AFP

Ukraine’s President spoke optimistically about the progress of revising the Trump administration’s peace plan, saying “it looks better” and the work will continue during talks on how to end Russia’s nearly four-year war.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke after meeting with France’s President on Monday (December 1, 2025), the latest in discussions aimed at brokering the terms for a potential ceasefire in the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II.

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin would meet with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff on Tuesday. Witkoff’s role came under scrutiny last week following a report that he coached Putin’s foreign affairs adviser on how Russia’s leader should pitch to Trump on the Ukraine peace plan.

Mr. Zelenskyy’s visit to Paris followed Sunday’s meeting between Ukrainian and U.S. officials, which Secretary of State Marco Rubio described as productive. The two sides have worked to revise the proposed US-authored plan that was developed in negotiations between Washington and Moscow but criticised as being too weighted toward Russian demands.

The Kremlin late Monday boasted of Russia’s battlefield gains ahead of the talks, claiming Moscow’s troops have captured the key city of Pokrovsk in the eastern Donetsk region. According to Mr. Peskov, Mr. Putin received a report about Pokrovsk’s capture on Sunday.

Mr. Zelenskyy, however, said in Paris that fighting was still ongoing in Pokrovsk on Monday.

Mr. Zelenskyy called the topic of Ukraine’s control over its territories “the most complicated” in discussions over the plan.

French President Emmanuel Macron said talks are still in a “preliminary phase” but called the flurry of diplomatic activity “a moment that could be a turning point” for the future of peace in Ukraine and security in Europe.

After criticism from Ukraine and its European allies, President Donald Trump has downplayed his administration’s original 28-point peace framework, which would have imposed limits on the size of Ukraine’s military, blocked the country from joining NATO and required Ukraine to give up territory. He now calls it a “concept” to be “fine-tuned”.

The French leader said he wanted to praise the US peace efforts but insisted that any peace plan can “only be finalised with Europeans around the table”.

Last week, Mr. Macron urged Western allies to bring “rock-solid” security guarantees to Ukraine in case a ceasefire or a peace deal is be reached. He has endorsed deploying a “reassurance force” on land, at sea and in the air to help ensure the country’s security.

The French president said Monday that the coming days will see “crucial discussions” between US officials and Western partners, who would aim to clarify U.S. participation in security guarantees.

Mr. Macron’s office said he and Mr. Zelenskyy held talks with other European partners including leaders from Britain, Germany, Poland, Italy, Norway, Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands. Also included were European Union officials Antonio Costa and Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.

Mr. Macron and Mr. Zelenskyy also had phone calls with Mr. Witkoff, Mr. Macron’s office said.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on Monday expressed concern that the U.S.-Russia talks might end up with Ukraine having to make more concessions, like being pressured to surrender territory.

“I’m afraid that all the pressure will be put on the victim,” Ms. Kallas told reporters in Brussels after chairing a meeting of EU foreign and defense ministers.

The Kremlin released footage of Putin in military fatigues, meeting with top military officials on Sunday evening at an unidentified military command post.

Russia’s General Staff chief, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, reported to Putin that the Russian troops have taken full control of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region — Russia uses the old Soviet name of the city, Krasnoarmeysk — and the city of Vovchansk in the Kharkiv region.

Col. Gen. Valery Solodchuk added that Russian forces were still battling “the remaining small enemy groups” in Pokrovsk.

There were no immediate comments from Ukrainian officials on the claim, which could not be independently verified.

Pokrovsk sits along the eastern front line in part of what has been dubbed the “fortress belt” of Donetsk. The line of heavily fortified cities is crucial to Ukraine’s defense of the region, including Kramatorsk, Sloviansk and Druzhkivka.

Speaking to reporters in Paris, Mr. Zelenskyy also rejected Russia’s earlier claim of capturing the city of Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region. The Ukrainian leader said that Kyiv’s troops “cleared out” almost all of Russian forces in Kupiansk.

In the footage, Mr. Putin insisted that the Russian troops “are increasing pressure along the entire front line” and “along the entire line of contact, the initiative is entirely in the hands of our Armed Forces”.

The Kremlin on Monday also condemned Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil infrastructure over the weekend, including an attack on an oil terminal owned by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, or CPC, and another that targeted two tankers in Turkish waters.

A major oil terminal near the port of Novorossiysk halted operations Saturday after a strike by unmanned boats damaged one of its three mooring points, according to a statement from CPC, which owns the terminal. It came a day after Ukrainian naval drones struck two oil tankers in the Black Sea that were reported to be part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” that evade sanctions.

Ukraine confirmed on Saturday it carried out the attacks.

Mr. Peskov described both incidents as “outrageous” and noted of the CPC terminal that “we’re talking about an international facility”.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Russian forces had destroyed 32 Ukrainian drones overnight. The drones were shot down over 11 Russian regions, as well as the Sea of Azov, the ministry said.

An apartment block was damaged during a Ukrainian attack on the city of Kaspiysk in Russia’s Dagestan region, local Gov. Sergei Melikov said. Located on the shore of the Caspian Sea close to Russia’s border with Azerbaijan, the city is more than 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) from the front line.

A Russian missile strike around midday Monday killed four people and wounded 40 others, 11 critically, in the eastern city of Dnipro, according to the head of regional administration Vladyslav Haivanenko.

The strike hit the city center, damaging four residential high-rises, an educational facility and the storage facility of a humanitarian organisation, said Mayor Borys Filatov, adding that search and rescue operations were ongoing.

Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia had fired 89 strike and decoy drones overnight Sunday before the attack on Dnipro, of which 63 drones were shot down or jammed.

Overall in November, Russia fired 100 missiles of various types and 9,588 reconnaissance and strike drones into Ukraine, according to the Air Force’s monthly report published Monday.

U.S. President Donald Trump. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday (November 21, 2025) cautiously welcomed a U.S. proposal to end Moscow’s nearly four-year war in Ukraine, saying it “could form the basis of a final peace settlement.”

Mr. Putin said Moscow had received the plan, which he called “a new version” and “a modernised plan,” which he said “could form the basis for a final peace settlement.”

“But this text has not been discussed with us in any substantive way, and I can guess why,” he said in Moscow.

“The U.S. administration has so far been unable to secure the consent of the Ukrainian side. Ukraine is against it. Apparently, Ukraine and its European allies are still under illusions and the dream of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield.”

Earlier Friday (November 21), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an address that his country is at a pivotal point in its four-year fight to defeat Russia’s invasion, with Ukrainians potentially facing a choice between standing up for their sovereign rights or losing American support as leaders negotiate a U.S. peace proposal.

The U.S/ plan contains many of Putin’s longstanding demands while offering limited security guarantees to Ukraine. It foresees Ukraine handing over territory to Russia, something Mr. Zelenskyy has repeatedly ruled out, reduces the size of it army and blocks its coveted path to NATO membership.

Mr. Zelenskyy pledged to hold constructive discussions with Washington at what he called “truly one of the most difficult moments in our history.”

Mr. Zelenskyy said he spoke for almost an hour Friday (November 21) with U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll about the peace proposal.

U.S. President Donald Trump in a radio interview on Friday (November 21) said that he wants an answer from Zelenskyy on his 28-point plan by Thursday (November 27), but says an extension is possible to finalise terms.

“I’ve had a lot of deadlines, but if things are working well, you tend to extend the deadlines,” Trump said in an interview on the Brian Kilmeade Show on Fox News Radio. “But Thursday is it — we think an appropriate time.”

While Mr. Zelenskyy has offered to negotiate with the U.S. and Russia, he signalled Ukraine may not get everything it wants and has to confront the possibility of losing American support if it makes a stand.

“Currently, the pressure on Ukraine is one of the hardest,” Mr. Zelenskyy said in a recorded speech. “Ukraine may now face a very difficult choice, either losing its dignity or the risk of losing a key partner.” “We will work calmly with America and all partners,” he said, but insisted on fair treatment.

He urged Ukrainians to “stop fighting” each other, in a possible reference to a major corruption scandal that has brought fierce criticism of the government, and said peace talks next week “will be very difficult.”

Europe says it will keep supporting Ukraine

Mr. Zelenskyy spoke earlier by phone with the leaders of Germany, France and the United Kingdom, who assured him of their continued support, as European officials scrambled to respond to the U/S/ proposals that apparently caught them unawares.

Wary of antagonising Mr. Trump, the European and Ukrainian responses were cautiously worded and pointedly commended American peace efforts.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer assured Zelenskyy of “their unchanged and full support on the way to a lasting and just peace” in Ukraine, Merz’s office said.

The four leaders welcomed U.S. efforts to end the war. “In particular, they welcomed the commitment to the sovereignty of Ukraine and the readiness to grant Ukraine solid security guarantees,” the statement added.

The line of contact must be the departure point for an agreement, they said, and “the Ukrainian armed forces must remain in a position to defend the sovereignty of Ukraine effectively.” PM Starmer said the right of Ukraine to “determine its future under its sovereignty is a fundamental principle.”

Existential threat to Europe

European countries see their own futures at stake in Ukraine’s fight against the Russian invasion and have insisted on being consulted in peace efforts.

“Russia’s war against Ukraine is an existential threat to Europe. We all want this war to end. But how it ends matters,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in Brussels.

“Russia has no legal right whatsoever to any concessions from the country it invaded. Ultimately, the terms of any agreement are for Ukraine to decide.” Mr. Trump in his radio interview pushed back against the notion that the settlement, which offers plentiful concessions to Russia, would embolden Putin to carry out further malign action on his European neighbours.

“He’s not thinking of more war,” Mr. Trump said of Mr. Putin. “He’s thinking punishment. Say what you want. I mean, this was supposed to be a one-day war that has been four years now.”

A European government official said that the U.S. plans weren’t officially presented to Ukraine’s European backers.

Many of the proposals are “quite concerning,” the official said, adding that a bad deal for Ukraine would also be a threat to broader European security.

The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to discuss the plan publicly.

European Council President Antonio Costa in Johannesburg said of the U.S. proposals: “The European Union has not been communicated (about) any plans in (an) official manner.”

Ukraine examines the proposals

Ukrainian officials said they were weighing the U.S. proposals, and Mr. Zelenskyy said he expected to talk to Mr. Trump about it in coming days.

A U.S. team began drawing up the plan soon after U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff held talks with Rustem Umerov, a top adviser to Zelenskyy, according to a senior Trump administration official who was not authorised to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The official added that Umerov agreed to most of the plan, after making several modifications, and then presented it to Mr. Zelenskyy.

However, Mr. Umerov on Friday (November 21) denied that version of events. He said he only organised meetings and prepared the talks.

He said technical talks between the U.S. and Ukraine were continuing in Kyiv.

“We are thoughtfully processing the partners’ proposals within the framework of Ukraine’s unchanging principles — sovereignty, people’s security, and a just peace,” he said.

Published – November 22, 2025 06:48 am IST