Employees remove debris in a front of a sorting terminal of Nova Post company hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, on the outskirts of Odesa, Ukraine, on August 31, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Poland and Ukraine tried to strike a conciliatory tone on Thursday (June 25, 2026) as they opened the annual Ukraine Recovery Conference in the Polish port of Gdansk after weeks of squabbling over historical differences — albeit without President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called on the West to believe a post-war Ukraine will “rise from the ruins” like his native city Gdansk, largely destroyed during World War II, as he tried to dampen the diplomatic spat with Kyiv.

Ukraine’s economy has been devastated by the Russian invasion and requires hundreds of billions of dollars of investment in reconstruction.

The conference opened under heavy security after weeks of uncertainty over whether it would take place at all.

Mr. Zelenskyy had infuriated Poles by signing a decree naming a military unit after the WWII UPA nationalist insurgents, who took part in massacres against Poles in the 1940s. “We can build the future only on truth, on mutual respect, on an understanding of history,” Mr. Tusk said.

But, in comments that may stir Kyiv, he also said Ukraine should “understand its own history” and show an “authentic capacity and readiness for reconciliation” if it wanted to join the EU.

The row has created a political crisis between the allies in the fifth year of Moscow’s invasion.

Mr. Zelenskyy normally attends the annual conference aimed at boosting investment into Ukraine, but skipped the Gdansk event amid the deteriorated ties.

Kyiv sent Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko instead, with a string of European leaders and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen also attending.

‘Something so emotional’

Ms. Svyrydenko also struck a friendly tone.

“Thank you for your help when it was the most urgent time to support us,” she told the Polish audience, referring to Poland opening its borders and taking in over a million Ukrainian refugees after Russia invaded in 2022.

It has since turned into a logistics hub for Western military aid flowing into Ukraine.

But the row has taken the EU by surprise, with Brussels uncertain what to do and hoping it will not have lasting effects.

Marta Kos, the EU Commissioner for Enlargement, told AFP she feared “something so emotional can affect the rationality of the businesses.”

She said it was a shame that Mr. Zelenskyy — “a symbol of Ukrainian courage” — was not there, but played down his absence, saying she did not believe it “harmed” the conference.

Warsaw has throughout the war said it wants Kyiv to one day join the EU.

But as the conflict has dragged on, nationalist parties have stoked anti-Ukrainian sentiment.

According to a recent opinion poll, 59.7% of Poles now oppose Ukraine’s accession to the EU.

On reconstruction, Poland hopes its companies will build on their geographical closeness and not be overshadowed by Westerners when a peace deal is eventually reached and businesses can start pouring into Ukraine.

In the stands of Gdansk’s Amberexpo, Polish business people hoped the political arguing would not affect potential deals.

“From the business side, we see no problems,” said Michal Rzepnikowski, of the Endolink SA firm that ships Polish prosthetics into Ukraine.

Corruption fears

“We want to help and develop business,” Mr. Rzepnikowski said of the diplomatic row, adding:

“But of course it does resonate in our relations with Ukraine and it does come up in conversations. But both sides reach the conclusion that it is not a priority during the war.”

Peace talks have so far led nowhere, and corruption fears — which have long plagued Kyiv — also loom over reconstruction talks.

“Investors will not come if there will be corruption,” Ms. Kos, the EU commissioner said.

Ukraine has been rocked by several corruption scandals this year that involved Mr. Zelenskyy’s inner circle.

Kyiv’s allies are trying to help Ukraine carry out the necessary reforms needed to begin the EU accession process.

From Ukrainians at the conference, there was some optimism that Moscow’s offensive has significantly slowed.

“We’ve seen advances on the frontline,” said Valery Shyrokov, a soldier in a Ukrainian unit of ex-artists, recently back from the front.

“We are looking with positivism into the future,” he added.

He refused to comment when asked if his view of Poland has changed during the recent spat.

Published – June 25, 2026 09:50 pm IST

Russian President Vladimir Putin. File
| Photo Credit: AP

A burned car in a middle of a street at the site of a Russian missile strike in the town of Merefa, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine, on May 4, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gestures while speaking at a joint press conference with Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nauseda and Polish President Karol Nawrocki, at the Presidential palace in Vilnius, Lithuania on Sunday.
| Photo Credit: AP

The Kremlin on Sunday (December 21, 2025) denied that three-way talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States were on the cards, as diplomats gathered in Miami for talks on ending the conflict.

A day earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had said that Washington had mooted the trilateral format, which would mark Moscow and Kyiv’s first face-to-face negotiations in half a year, but expressed scepticism that they would lead to progress.

“At present, no one has seriously discussed this initiative, and to my knowledge, it is not in preparation,” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov told reporters, according to Russian news agencies.

After revealing the U.S. three-way proposal, Mr. Zelenskyy told journalists on Saturday (December 20) that he was “not sure that anything new could come of it”, and urged the United States to step up pressure on Russia to end the war.

But the Ukrainian leader struck a more upbeat note on Sunday (December 21), adding that “constructive” talks between U.S., European and Ukrainian negotiators were “moving at a fairly rapid pace”, while cautioning that “much depends on whether Russia feels the need to end the war for real”.

“Unfortunately, the real signals coming from Russia remain only negative: assaults along the frontline, Russian war crimes in border areas, and continued strikes against our infrastructure,” Mr. Zelenskyy posted on X.

Russian envoy in town

Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev arrived on Saturday (December 20) in Miami, where Ukrainian and European teams have also been gathering since Friday (December 19) for the negotiations, mediated by US special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Dmitriev “will return to Moscow, make his report, and we will discuss what to do next”, Uskakov said.

The top Kremlin aide also told Russian journalists Sunday (December 21) that he had “not seen” the revised U.S. proposal to end the conflict.

Washington last month stunned Ukraine and its European allies by presenting a 28-point plan to end the war widely seen as caving in to the Kremlin’s key demands, which has since been redrafted following Kyiv and Europe’s involvement.

While little is known of the latest version, Kyiv is likely to be expected to surrender some territory — a prospect resented by many Ukrainians — in exchange for US security guarantees.

Moscow’s troops have been steadily advancing at the eastern front in recent months, with Mr. Putin on Friday (December 19) hailing the Russian army’s territorial gains — and threatening more in the coming weeks.

Putin-Macron call?

The last time Ukrainian and Russian envoys held official direct talks was in July in Istanbul, which led to prisoner swaps but little else in the way of concrete progress to stop the fighting.

Russian and European involvement in Miami marks a step forward from before, when the Americans held separate negotiations with each side in different locations.

But the extremely strained relations between the two sides after nearly four years of Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War II have cast doubt over the prospect of direct Ukraine-Russia talks.

Moscow, which sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, also argues that European involvement in the talks only hinders the process.

According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov in an interview published Sunday (December 21), Mr. Putin, however, expressed his willingness to talk with France’s Emmanuel Macron on the conflict.

Mr. Macron held several calls with Putin in the run-up to and during the early months of the conflict, in an attempt to press the veteran Kremlin leader on the war.

Mr. Putin has “expressed readiness to engage in dialogue with Macron”, Mr. Peskov told state news agency RIA Novosti.

“Therefore, if there is mutual political will, then this can only be assessed positively.”

In response, Mr. Macron’s office said Mr. Putin’s stated willingness to talk was “welcome”, but stressed that any discussion with Moscow would be conducted “in full transparency” with Mr. Zelenskyy and European allies.

Meanwhile, Mr. Zelenskyy said on X that “over the past week, Russia has launched approximately 1,300 attack drones, nearly 1,200 guided aerial bombs, and 9 missiles of various types against Ukraine” with the Odesa region and the south of the country “hit particularly hard”.

Moscow on Saturday (December 20) claimed the capture of two villages in the northern Sumy and eastern Donetsk regions, while Ukraine said it had destroyed two Russian fighter jets in the occupied Crimean peninsula.

Published – December 21, 2025 07:36 pm IST

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday he was ready to hold new elections in Ukraine, and that he expected to send Washington within a day revised proposals on ending the nearly four-year war with Russia.

U.S. President Donald Trump is pressuring Kyiv to accept a deal formulated by Washington, the initial version of which was criticised by Ukraine’s allies as overly favourable to Russia.

Also Read | Zelenskyy meets European partners, seeks convergence with U.S. on truce

“We are working today (Tuesday) and will continue tomorrow (Wednesday). I think we will hand it over tomorrow,” Zelensky told reporters after shuttling between European capitals to hammer out a response with allies.

Mr. Trump, who earlier accused Mr. Zelenskyy of not reading the latest U.S. proposals, said Russia had the “upper hand” in the conflict, in an interview with Politico published on Tuesday.

He also accused Kyiv of “using war” to avoid elections, which have been postponed under the imposition of martial law since Russia invaded its neighbour.

“You know, they talk about a democracy, but it gets to a point where it’s not a democracy anymore,” Mr. Trump said.

Ukrainian law prohibits holding elections under martial law, without which a presidential ballot was to have taken place in March 2024.

But on Tuesday, following Mr. Trump’s comments, Mr. Zelenskyy said he was ready to organise a new ballot.

“I am ready for the elections,” Mr. Zelenskyy told journalists, adding that he is asking Ukrainian lawmakers to prepare “proposals regarding the possibility of amending the legislative foundations and the law on elections during martial law”.

‘No legal right’

Mr. Zelenskyy spent the past few days shuttling between European capitals to hammer out a response to the U.S. plan. On Monday, he held talks with European leaders in London and Brussels. On Tuesday, he went to Italy to meet Pope Leo XIV and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Washington’s proposals involved Ukraine surrendering land that Russia has not captured — the entire industrial Donbas region — in return for security promises that fall short of Kyiv’s aspirations to join NATO.

Mr. Zelenskyy on Monday said Washington’s 28-point plan had been revised to 20 points after U.S.-Ukraine talks at the weekend.

He said the land issue and international security guarantees were two of the main sticking points.

“Do we envision ceding territories? We have no legal right to do so, under Ukrainian law, our constitution and international law. And we don’t have any moral right either,” Mr. Zelenskyy said.

“The key is to know what our partners will be ready to do in the event of new aggression by Russia. At the moment, we have not received any answer to this question,” he said.

During a televised event on Tuesday, President Vladimir Putin called Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region Russia’s “historical territory”.

“This territory is important; it is our historical territory, absolutely,” he said.

Trump criticises Europe

Mr. Trump has blown hot and cold on Ukraine since returning to office in January, initially chastising Mr. Zelenskyy for not being grateful for U.S. support.

But he was also frustrated that efforts to persuade Putin to end the war had failed to produce results, and he recently slapped new sanctions on Russian oil firms.

European allies have expressed solidarity with Ukraine.

In the Politico interview, Mr. Trump criticised Europe’s role, saying: “They talk but they don’t produce.”

Ms. Meloni, who positions herself as a bridge between Mr. Trump and Europe, has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine since Russia’s invasion, although one of her coalition allies, Matteo Salvini’s League party, is more sceptical of aid for Kyiv.

Italy has sent weapons to Ukraine, but only for targets inside the country. Ms. Meloni has also ruled out sending troops in a possible monitoring force proposed by Britain and France.

The Italian government last week postponed a decision on renewing military aid to Ukraine, with the current authorisation due to end on December 31. Salvini has reportedly questioned whether it is necessary in light of current talks.

However, Ms. Meloni at the time insisted that “as long as there’s a war, we’ll do what we can, as we’ve always done to help Ukraine defend itself”.

Published – December 10, 2025 01:40 am IST

A file image of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, and U.S. President Donald Trump, right. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The United States and Ukraine sought on Monday (November 24, 2025) to narrow the gaps in a peace plan to end the war with Russia after agreeing to modify a U.S. proposal that Kyiv and its European allies saw as a Kremlin wish list.

Washington and Kyiv said in a joint statement they had drafted a “refined peace framework” after talks in Geneva on Sunday (November 23, 2025). Though there were no specifics, the dialogue received a cautious welcome from some of Ukraine’s allies.

Ukraine’s delegation to the talks with U.S. officials in Switzerland was returning home on Monday (November 24, 2025) to report back, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. U.S. President Donald Trump hinted at new progress.

“Is it really possible that big progress is being made in Peace Talks between Russia and Ukraine??? Don’t believe it until you see it, but something good just may be happening,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Kyiv blindsided by U.S. plan

The U.S. blindsided Kyiv and European countries with a 28-point peace plan last week, giving Ukraine until Thursday (November 27, 2025) to agree to a framework to end Europe’s deadliest war since World War Two.

The sudden push raises the pressure on Ukraine and Mr. Zelenskyy, who is now at his most vulnerable since the start of the war after a corruption scandal saw two of his Ministers dismissed and as Russia makes battlefield gains. Mr. Zelenskyy could struggle to get Ukrainians to swallow a deal viewed as selling out their interests.

After Sunday’s (November 23, 2025) talks, no public statement was released on how the revised plan would handle contentious issues such as how to guarantee Ukraine’s security against future Russian threats, or how to fund the rebuilding of Ukraine. Mr. Zelenskyy said negotiations were ongoing. The Kremlin said nothing had officially been conveyed to Russia.

Kyiv still looking for compromises, says Zelenskyy

“We all continue working with partners, especially the United States, to look for compromises that will strengthen but not weaken us,” Mr. Zelenskyy said via video link from a separate meeting of Ukraine’s allies in Sweden.

Mr. Zelenskyy said Russia must pay for the war in Ukraine and that a decision on using frozen Russian assets was crucial.

Mr. Trump, who returned to office this year pledging to quickly end the war, has reoriented U.S. policy away from staunch support for Kyiv towards accepting some of Russia’s justifications for its 2022 invasion. He has maintained pressure on Mr. Zelenskyy to agree to a deal.

Mr. Zelenskyy could travel to the United States as soon as this week to discuss the most sensitive aspects of the plan with Mr. Trump, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The initial 28-point proposal put forth by the U.S. last week called on Ukraine to cede more territory, accept limits on its military and abandon its ambitions to join NATO – Russian demands that Ukrainians have long rejected.

“Trump’s special plan is, in general, a capitulation for Ukraine,” said Anzhelika Yurkevych, a 62-year-old civil servant in Kyiv. “I think the Ukrainian people will not agree. Even if they sign, it needs to be implemented, the Ukrainian people will be the ones to do it. And they do not agree with this.”

Ukraine’s second-largest city Kharkiv was hit by what officials said was a massive drone attack that killed four people on Sunday (November 23, 2025). With smoke rising from the rubble, one man was seen crouched and holding the hand of a dead body.

“There was a family, there were children,” said Ihor Klymenko, Red Cross Commander of the emergency response team in Kharkiv. “I can’t tell you how, but the children are alive, thank God, the man is alive. The woman died, unfortunately.” Across the border, Russian air defences downed Ukrainian drones en route to Moscow, forcing three airports serving the capital to pause flights. A reported Ukrainian drone strike on Sunday (November 23, 2025) knocked power out for thousands of residents near Moscow, a rare reversal of Russian attacks on energy targets that regularly cause power blackouts for millions of Ukrainians.

European nations issue counter-proposal

European allies said they were not involved in crafting the original plan. They drew up a counter-proposal which, according to a copy reviewed by Reuters, would cease fighting at present front lines, leaving discussions of territory for later, and include a NATO-style U.S. security guarantee for Ukraine.

“We are, of course, closely monitoring the media reports that have been pouring in from Geneva over the past few days, but we have not yet received anything official,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Some EU leaders met to discuss Ukraine on the sidelines of an EU-African Union summit in Luanda on Monday (November 24, 2025), with others dialling in via video conference.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Mr. Trump had expressed an openness to a jointly developed peace plan for Ukraine.

“And that is precisely what the representatives of Ukraine, the United States of America and the European member states achieved yesterday in Geneva,” Mr. Merz said in Luanda, describing the outcome of the talks as an “interim result”.

“But we also know: Peace in Ukraine won’t happen overnight.”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said more work needed to be done. “Everybody is absolutely focused on what we need to get out of this, and that is a just and lasting peace.”

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said any agreement must not weaken Ukraine or Europe. “This is a delicate matter because no one wants to discourage Americans and President Trump from having the United States on our side in this process.”

Published – November 24, 2025 10:01 pm IST