These are the important thing developments from day 1,404 of Russia’s struggle on Ukraine.
Printed On 29 Dec 2025
Right here is the place issues stand on Monday, December 29:
Diplomacy
- United States President Donald Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for talks at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and stated the 2 leaders had been “getting a lot closer, maybe very close” to a deal to finish the struggle in Ukraine.
- Trump and Zelenskyy reported progress on two of essentially the most contentious points within the peace talks: safety ensures for Ukraine and the division of japanese Ukraine’s Donbas area that Russia has sought to seize.
- On safety ensures, Zelenskyy stated {that a} deal had been reached, whereas Trump stated they had been 95 p.c of the way in which to such an settlement.
- Each Trump and Zelenskyy stated that the way forward for the largely Russian-occupied Donbas had not been settled, although the US president stated discussions had been “transferring in the suitable route”. “It’s unresolved, nevertheless it’s getting loads nearer. That’s a really powerful challenge,” Trump stated.
- The 2 leaders didn’t supply additional particulars or a deadline for finishing the deal, however Zelenskyy stated any peace settlement must be permitted by Ukraine’s parliament or by a referendum.
- Shortly after the Trump-Zelenskyy assembly, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s particular envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, wrote on X that the “complete world appreciates” Trump and his staff’s peace efforts.
- Forward of the assembly with Zelenskyy, Trump and Putin spoke for greater than two hours on the phone. The US president described the decision as “glorious” and “productive”.
- Trump stated he would name Putin once more after the assembly with Zelenskyy.
- Kremlin international coverage aide Yury Ushakov stated the preliminary name was “pleasant” and that Putin had instructed Trump {that a} 60-day ceasefire, proposed by the European Union and Ukraine, would merely lengthen the struggle.
- Ushakov stated {that a} “daring, accountable, political choice is required from Kyiv” on the Donbas area and different disputed issues for there to be a “full cessation” of hostilities.
- European leaders, together with these from Finland, France, Germany, Poland and the UK, joined at the very least a part of the Trump-Zelenskyy assembly by cellphone.
- European Fee President Ursula von der Leyen stated in an announcement that Europe was able to maintain working with Ukraine and the US, and that having ironclad safety ensures can be of “paramount” significance.
- French President Emmanuel Macron stated that progress had been made on safety ensures on the assembly. Macron stated that international locations within the so-called “Coalition of the Prepared” would meet in Paris in early January to finalise their “concrete contributions”.
- Zelenskyy stated that Trump had agreed to host European leaders once more, presumably on the White Home, someday in January. Trump stated the assembly might be in Washington, DC, or “someplace”.
- Earlier on Sunday, Russian Minister of Overseas Affairs Sergey Lavrov warned that any European troop contingents deployed to Ukraine would develop into respectable targets for Russia’s forces. Lavrov additionally accused European politicians of being pushed by “ambitions” of their relations with Kyiv, and disregarding the folks of Ukraine and of their very own nations.
Combating
- Russian forces attacked a heating plant within the southern Ukrainian metropolis of Kherson, wounding one particular person and inflicting “vital harm” to the power, state oil and gasoline agency Naftogaz stated.
- Ukraine’s main personal vitality supplier, DTEK, stated it had restored energy to greater than 1,000,000 households in and round Kyiv a day after a massive Russian air attack had compelled emergency outages.
- Ukraine’s army stated it had struck the Syzran oil refinery in Russia’s Samara area in a drone assault. The strike brought on a fireplace, and damages had been nonetheless being assessed, the military stated in an announcement.
- The army additionally stated that solely a part of the southeastern city of Huliaipole was underneath Russian management, contradicting an earlier declare by Moscow that it had been captured. It added that combating was additionally nonetheless underneath method for Stepnohirsk, one other city within the southeastern Zaporizhia area that Russia claimed it had captured.
- In the meantime, Russia’s Ministry of Defence stated in an announcement that its troops had taken management of 4 different settlements within the Donetsk area. It recognized them as Myrnohrad, Artemivka, Rodynske and Vilne.
