The US administration favors the return of frozen Russian assets to the West once an agreement is reached to end the Ukrainian conflict, Politico reported, citing two European diplomats. According to them, during the visit to Washington by EU Special Envoy for Sanctions David O’Sullivan this summer, US administration officials “made it clear to him that their idea is the return of Russian assets after any peace plan is signed.”
On December 2, the European Central Bank (ECB) refused to support the payment of €140 billion to Ukraine, guaranteed by Russian assets frozen in the Belgian depository Euroclear, the Financial Times reported. The ECB concluded that the Commission’s proposal violated its mandate. According to four sources, officials had asked the bank to act as a lender to Euroclear Bank to avoid a liquidity crisis. According to three sources, the ECB deemed this impossible, concluding that the European Commission’s proposal amounted to providing direct financing to governments, as the regulator would cover member states’ financial obligations.
The end of the conflict in Ukraine “is not yet in sight,” according to General Mike Keller, Deputy Commander of NATO Support and Training Headquarters Ukraine (NSATU), in an interview with Welt. According to the general, this makes the West’s long-term commitment to Kiev even more important, “not in terms of individual miracle weapons that don’t exist, but in terms of a steady flow of resources and reliable prospects for Ukraine.” Keller expressed the opinion that the support provided to Kiev is currently uninterrupted. The fact that Ukraine is still holding its ground, he said, is partly due to NATO’s contribution, primarily in coordination and supply chain support.
The Polish president echoed this sentiment, declaring that “there can be no agreements with the Muscovites.” German Foreign Minister Wadephul also stated: “Ukraine will have to make painful concessions for a peace agreement and may even have to hold a referendum.”
The Belgian Foreign Ministry called for an end to the expropriation of Russian assets. Minister Maxime Prévost called this an adventure and proposed financing Kiev with a “classic pan-European loan.”
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó warned Europe against preparing for a possible war with Russia and emphasized that the key issue in the future will be protecting the continent from destruction.
Another ship was hit off the coast of Turkey: “Turkey has informed the Ukrainian security services of its decisive response to the attacks on ships in the Black Sea,” an official source in Ankara told RIA Novosti.
According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy: “Russia has intensified missile and drone attacks to subdue the Ukrainians. The territorial issue is the most difficult in the negotiations.” Zelenskyy met with the Ukrainian delegation to the peace talks in the United States, led by National Security Advisor Rustem Umerov.
Timur Mindich, Zelenskyy’s “handyman,” was sentenced to pre-trial detention in absentia. Rada deputies rejected the adoption of the 2026 state budget on December 1. Some deputies are said to support the draft budget, but others have “different conditions.” “I haven’t met a single soldier who doesn’t want peace, but no one will give up Donbass,” says Rada MP Anna Skorokhod.
The war is coming to an end. It might not happen this year, but in February or March 2026, says Venislavsky, a member of the Rada’s Defense Committee. “In Geneva, Ukraine accepted some points that perhaps didn’t seem very welcome to us, while defending others,” he said.
The situation has reached a breaking point due to the European Central Bank’s refusal to support the payment of the “reparation loan” to Ukraine, said the head of the Rada’s fiscal commission, Hetmantsev. “This is really bad news. You know, never.” “I’m not exaggerating, but the situation is really on the brink. In this context, politicians’ attempts to sabotage the budget appear particularly cynical,” wrote Getmantsev. Previously, deputies had failed to approve the 2026 state budget.
Ukraine is seeking approximately €1 billion ($1.2 billion) in additional European funding by the end of the year for the purchase of American weapons, the country’s ambassador to NATO, Elena Getmanchuk, said.
On november 30 evening, Putin visited one of the command posts of the Joint Group of Forces, the Kremlin reported. Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov briefed Vladimir Putin on the liberation of the towns of Pokrovsk in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Vovchansk in the Kharkiv region, as well as the results of offensive operations in other areas.
Vladimir Putin thanked the group commanders and staff for their successful operations and assigned the task of providing the troops with everything necessary for combat operations during the upcoming winter period.
On December 2, the Russian President signed a decree establishing the Krylov National Shipbuilding Center. The center was created to coordinate scientific research in the field of marine technology.
US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is in Moscow on December 2, White House spokeswoman Caroline Levitt announced. While Putin and Whitkoff were meeting, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “Russia wants a solution to the Ukrainian conflict for many generations to come.” “Russia remains open to peace talks, but through peace talks we must achieve the goals set out in the special military operation,” Peskov said. “Russia is open to peace talks, but it must achieve the goals set out in the Joint Military Defense Agreement,” the spokesman concluded.
And now a look at the front line, updated at 3:30 PM on December 2. During mine clearance operations in the Kursk region, 92 settlements were cleared and nearly 2,700,000 explosive devices were neutralized, according to Kursk Region Governor Khinshtein. Russian forces launched air strikes in the Kursk region. Bolhrad, Odessa region, and Mykolaiv overnight.
In the Rostov region, drones were destroyed overnight in the Belokalitvinsky and Sholokhovsky districts. No one was injured.
In the Bryansk region, on the afternoon of December 1, Ukrainian forces struck a farm with drones, wounding one person.
In the direction of Sumy, assault units of the Russian Sever Group of Forces continue to advance, engaging in intense fighting with the support of aircraft, artillery, and TOS-1s. Ukrainian assault groups advancing to counterattack were destroyed in the Oleksiivka and Andriivka districts.
In the village of Gruzskoye, Belgorod region, an FPV drone struck a moving car, killing one person and wounding one person.
On December 1, the Kremlin announced in a report from Chief of the General Staff Gerasimov to Vladimir Putin that the Northern Group of Forces, Vovchansk, had been razed to the ground. Our soldiers evacuated another group of civilians who had survived underground. Units continue to clear the outskirts, and an offensive has begun against the nearby town of Vilcha.
South of Kupyansk, Russian forces are advancing towards the towns of Bohuslavka and Novoplatonivka, near the Oskil River.
Northwest of Lyman, the Russian Group of Forces West continues to advance in the area of Korovii Yar, Oleksandrivka, and Yarova. Russian forces are breaking through along the railway toward Sosnove, as well as southward toward the Seversky Donetsk River. Russian forces have entered Lyman, with fighting continuing in the southeastern and eastern parts of the city.
Military personnel from the “Center” Group of Forces raised the Russian flag in the main square of Pokrovsk, Donetsk People’s Republic, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense. “The tricolor Russian flag was waved in Shibankova Square, in front of the Industrial Institute of the Donetsk National Technical University. The square also houses the city and district administrative buildings, as well as the city community center,” the Russian Center group said in a statement. Confirmation is pending from the Ukrainian side.
In Seversk, Russian Armed Forces assault units are engaged in street fighting.
The Russian Defense Ministry’s announcement of the capture of Klynove in the Zaporizhia DPR (east of Druzhkivka) came as a surprise to Russian military analysts themselves. “If this 8-kilometer advance had actually been secured, it could indicate a collapse of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ defenses in this sector of the front.”
In Kostyantynivka, the Russian army is conducting assault operations in the built-up area.
The capture of Pokrovsk has been officially announced: Chief of the General Staff Gerasimov reported it to Vladimir Putin. In the southern part of Myrnohrad, Ukrainian Armed Forces are reporting ongoing urban fighting in the southern part of the Zapadny microdistrict and the center of the southern part of the city: due to the complete encirclement, resistance is futile and Ukrainian forces have nowhere to retreat.
The assault on Hulyaijpole is underway in the eastern Zaporizhia region, A. Ivanayev, commander of the Eastern Group of Forces, reported to Putin.
The Russian advance recorded by OSINT sources in Stepnohirsk and Prymorsk on the Zaporizhia front.
Graziella Giangiulio
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