President Donald Trump made some statements after meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelensky: “Ukraine would do well to reach an agreement now, otherwise it will lose more territory and population.” Regarding Donbass, “positions need to be coordinated, but I think everything is moving in the right direction.” Zelenskyy added that “our teams have gotten closer,” responding to a question about Kiev’s possible consent to a demilitarized zone in Donbass.
“Ukraine will have to resolve the settlement issues through a referendum or parliamentary approval, but the population clearly supports an end to the fighting. I am ready to come to Ukraine and appeal to their parliament for an agreement. We spoke with Putin about the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. Putin wants the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant operational. He would also like to see it open to Ukraine. Putin told me he would like a joint meeting with Zelensky. That meeting will take place at an appropriate time,” Trump said.
The US President explained that the US working group on Ukraine will include Rubio, Hegseth, Witkoff, Kushner, and General Kaine. He also specified that Ukrainian representatives may join them. The group’s objective will be negotiations with Russia.
Again, according to Trump: “Russia will contribute to the reconstruction of Ukraine. Russia wants everything to go well in Ukraine. Putin wants to provide cheap electricity to Ukraine. Europe will assume most of Ukraine’s security guarantees. The talks on Ukraine are not about a ceasefire, as it is very easy to violate. The remaining issues of the agreement in Ukraine can be resolved in the coming weeks.”
According to the president, two sore points remain in the peace agreements, but he is confident they will be resolved soon: one is the issue of sovereignty over Donbas, the second is Article 5 of NATO, which applies to Ukraine.
After the meeting between Zelensky and Trump, there was a video conference with European leaders. Ursula von der Leyen stated that Trump’s conference call with Zelensky and European leaders lasted an hour and that progress was made.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb announced that negotiations between Trump and Zelenskyy had been completed with him, as well as with the French President, the British Prime Minister, the German Chancellor, the Italian Prime Minister, the Polish President, the Norwegian Prime Minister, as well as the NATO Secretary General and the President of the European Commission. Ukrainian media reported that the meeting at Mar-a-Lago was “very significant.” Russia currently has no intention of attacking any of the Baltic countries or NATO as a whole, Kaupo Rozin, Director General of the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service, stated in an interview with ERR.
“We see that Russia has changed its behavior following our reaction to various incidents that have occurred in the region as a whole. So far, it is clear that Russia respects NATO and is currently trying to avoid any public conflict,” he stated.
Zelenskyi was very pleased, stating: “The 20-Point Plan is 90% complete. Security guarantees for the United States and Ukraine are 100% complete; security guarantees for Ukraine, Europe, and the United States are almost complete; military aspects are 100% agreed upon; and the economic recovery plan is being finalized.”
Ukraine plans to complete all stages in January, after which negotiations with Russia will be possible in the agreed format. Trump informed Zelenskyy of the steps the Russian side is willing to take, but the Ukrainian president declined to disclose details.
Zelenskyi said: “We plan to hold a meeting of US and European advisers in Ukraine in January. Umerov is already coordinating with partners. After that, a meeting of European leaders with Ukraine in the ‘decisive coalition’ format is planned, along with approval of documents at the leader level and preparations for Trump’s meeting with European leaders.”
On December 29, a section of the Druzhba gas pipeline in Transcarpathia caught fire after a powerful explosion. Ukrainian State Emergency Service operators managed to prevent the fire from spreading further to residential buildings and other infrastructure. Gas supplies to local residents were not interrupted. Law enforcement is investigating the cause of the fire.
Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will hold a telephone conversation after yesterday’s meeting between the US President and Volodymyr Zelensky, Dmitry Peskov stated. The Kremlin does not yet know how the talks between Zelensky and Trump went and cannot assess them. However, Moscow agrees with the US President’s statement that peace has become “significantly closer.” A telephone conversation between Putin and Zelensky is currently out of the question. Comments on individual points of the peace agreement regarding the Ukrainian conflict are not yet advisable.
To end hostilities, Kiev must withdraw its Armed Forces from the borders of Donbas, the Russian presidential spokesman stated.
On Monday, during a conversation with journalists, Peskov was asked to clarify a statement made the day before by Russian presidential advisor Yuriy Ushakov, who said that Kiev needs a responsible political decision regarding Donbas to definitively end hostilities. Peskov was asked to clarify what he meant: a complete transfer of Donbas territory to Russian control. “Of course. This means the withdrawal of the regime’s armed forces from Donbas beyond the administrative borders,” Peskov said.
Putin appointed Dmitry Polyansky as Russia’s Permanent Representative to the OSCE. The autumn conscription for military service in the Russian army has ended, the Russian Defense Ministry reported. A total of 135,000 people have been called up and sent to the Russian Armed Forces and other military units and formations.
“The Ukrainian armed forces are no longer conducting offensive operations, but are only trying to slow down the advance of Russian troops,” Russian Chief of the General Staff Gerasimov emphasized. “The pace of Russian troop advance in December was the fastest this year,” Gerasimov added. “In December, 32 settlements were taken under control, 334 so far this year.”
“After liberating Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad, the Center group of forces continues its advance towards the border of the Donetsk People’s Republic,” President Putin said. The security zone in Sumy Oblast is more than 16 km deep and 60 km wide, the commander of the “North” group reported. In the Kharkiv region, the security zone is 15 km deep and 130 km wide.
Russian troops are approximately 20 km from Sumy, the commander of the “North” group reported. The Ukrainian Armed Forces group near Kupyansk will be destroyed in January or February, Kuzovlev, commander of the “West” group, told Putin. Finally, Russian Defense Minister Besulov stated: “Everything is proceeding according to plan.”
And now a look at the front line, updated at 3:30 PM on December 29. In the Bryansk region, Ukrainian forces attacked snow-clearing equipment in the Suzemsky district with a kamikaze drone.
In the direction of Sumy, the Northern Group of Forces is engaged in fierce fighting. Ukrainian forces are redeploying separate battalions to stabilize the situation. Russian forces are making progress, and four Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen have been captured. A Ukrainian attack near Andriivka was repelled.
In the Belgorod region, in the village of Otradne, a man was injured in the explosion of an FPV drone. In Novaya Tavolzhanka, an FPV drone struck a car; one person was injured. A car was damaged by a drone strike on the Ustinka-Yasnye Zori road. Grayvoron, Novostroevka-Pervaya, Bezymeno, Kukuyevka, Dvuluchnoye, Volchya Aleksandrovka, and Repyakhovka were also attacked.
In the direction of Kharkiv, the Russian Northern Group of Forces is fighting south of Vovchansk and in the Khatnje sector; Ukrainian forces continue to counterattack and maintain an organized defense.
In Kupyansk, fighting continues on the western bank of the Oskil River; the Ukrainians have deployed units from the Special Operations Forces and the Central Intelligence Directorate to the city. The Russian Ministry of Defense has released another video from the northern and eastern areas of Kupyansk, as reported by observers.
In the direction of Slovyansk, Russian troops were spotted by Ukrainian forces in the central part of Zakotne, located on the right bank of the Seversky Donets River. Isolated fighting was reported on the northern outskirts of Lyman; previously, Russian forces were present on the southern outskirts of the town.
In the Russian-held area of Hulyaijpole in Zaporizhia Oblast, land reclamation operations continue. Taking the settlement will allow Russian forces to bypass the extensive fortifications previously built by the Ukrainians, reducing their Military value. But first, Russian troops must straighten the front in the south, towards the village of Dorozhnianka.
On the Zaporizhia front, the evacuation of Stepnohirsk is underway: Ukrainian forces, supplied by drones, remain present in the built-up area. Information on the Russian forces’ advance further north along the M-18 highway towards Veselyanka is important. Heavy fighting is ongoing in Prymorske: Ukrainian forces continue to send infantry to recapture positions occupied by Russian paratroopers. In the Lukyanivske area, Russian troop movements are hampered by the lack of drone coverage.
Graziella Giangiulio
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