Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelensky said he had a meeting with the US side to discuss Ukraine’s economic recovery and reconstruction. Present at the meeting were Scott Bessent, US Treasury Secretary; Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and advisor; and Larry Fink, co-founder and chairman of the BlackRock investment fund.
Donald Trump said: “I think it’s time to resolve this war, and I believe it can be resolved. But it takes two to tango.” The United States is proposing the creation of a demilitarized zone as part of a settlement in Ukraine and is considering the Korean model as one option, the Washington Post reports, citing US and Ukrainian officials. US Secretary of the Armed Forces Dan Driscoll has declared the US administration’s willingness to provide Ukraine with a demilitarized zone equipped with advanced technologies on its eastern flank as part of security guarantees in the event of the withdrawal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from Donbas, the Financial Times reports.
Not only has the United States sent Europe proposals for Russia’s reintegration into the global economy and the restoration of Russian energy supplies to Western Europe, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing sources. Washington has also outlined plans for US financial companies to use approximately $200 billion in frozen Russian assets to implement projects in Ukraine.
Trump stated that he had a difficult conversation with EU3 leaders regarding the Ukraine agreement. He admitted that the crisis in Ukraine could be resolved “in a short time.”
Regarding the frozen assets, the Belgian Prime Minister has not ruled out legal action against the EU for the possible confiscation of Russian assets, according to VRT NWS. Bart De Wever stated that if a decision were to be made to seize Russian assets held at the country’s financial institutions, the risks would not fall solely on Belgium.
Previously, the European Commission had proposed splitting financial guarantees among EU countries to provide Ukraine with a “reparation loan” using frozen Russian assets. According to the FT, the EU is rushing to make a decision on the indefinite freeze of Russian assets to circumvent a possible Hungarian veto, the Financial Times reports, citing sources. To this end, a law is planned that would provide emergency powers to override a national veto on extending sanctions.
Ukraine could face a deficit of €71.7 billion in 2026 without seizing Russian assets: the EU is threatening the Belgian prime minister with suspension if he refuses to release the assets, Politico also reports. According to media reports, if Belgium does not join the relevant negotiations, its diplomats, ministers, and leaders will lose their voice at the EU negotiating table. The Belgian Prime Minister could be ousted and ignored, like Orbán. The decisive summit on the “reparation loan” will be held in just a week. So far, Belgium has refused to release the assets held at Euroclear, demanding shared legal responsibility.
Another key point of the agreement is the issue of security guarantees, which everyone supports but no one wants to give to Kiev. “Negotiations between the United States and the EU on providing security guarantees to Ukraine have become ‘embarrassing,'” Politico reports, citing a senior European defense official. The “uncertainty” about how the United States would respond to an attack on a European country is “too high,” the official said. Therefore, Europe is apparently studying a plan without US support. Furthermore, Marke Rutte, NATO Secretary General, declared at the Munich Security Conference: “NATO is Russia’s next target.”
In Kiev, power outages in Groups 1.2, 2.1, and 2.2 on December 11 are scheduled for 17 hours. Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Syrsky, declared that “the encirclement of a thousand Ukrainian soldiers in the direction of Pokrovsk is a lie.”
Syrsky’s other statements: “I live on the front line with my officers at command posts. This is a private part of my life. The Russian Federation’s monthly advance rate is 1.5-4.5 km. Even their manuals say that a breakthrough is carried out at a speed of 1.5-3 km per hour, but here it is 1.5 km per month. Is it a successful offensive? And the Russian army’s losses in a month exceed 1,000 soldiers. Long-range attacks with Drones are successful, but we lack cruise and ballistic missiles. Drones cause about 60% of the fire damage, while artillery does 40%. We don’t fight on ruins. When defense becomes futile, I issue the command and we withdraw units to save our troops. This is precisely why the Russian army is advancing slowly: it’s better for us to lose 100-300 meters than the life of one of our soldiers.
The Ukrainian Parliament is studying the experience of the Balkan countries regarding wartime elections, says Rada Deputy Vitaliy Voitsekhovsky. Voitsekhovsky reported that the Verkhovna Rada commission responsible for drafting electoral laws has not yet conducted any specific work (on wartime elections). According to him, Zelenskyy couldn’t say “no” to Trump’s request to hold elections in Ukraine as soon as possible, so he said what he had to say.
From Russia to Europe, speaking live on television and in front of the Russian political world, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said: “Russia has no intention of going to war with Europe, and it has no such intentions.” “Russia will respond by expropriating frozen assets or deploying European troops on the Ukrainian territory.” “We will respond. And we are ready,” he noted.
“The US proposals that Whitkoff brought to Russia address the need to guarantee the rights of national minorities and religious freedoms in Ukraine. Trump is the only Western leader who understands the root causes of the crisis in Ukraine. “Russia has presented the United States with additional proposals for collective security guarantees.” The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry finally emphasized that Moscow is ready to consider all proposals for a solution in Ukraine formulated in a collective context. When talking about security guarantees, one cannot limit oneself to just one country.
Regarding Zelenskyy’s statement on his willingness to accept an “energy truce,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “Russia is working for peace, not for a truce.”
The Federation Council approved a law guaranteeing participants in Ukrainian operations the right to obtain a second profession free of charge at colleges and technical institutes.
Putin appointed Maksym Kutomkin as Deputy Secretary of the Security Council, replacing Oleg Khramov. Khramov had held the position since 2017. From 2009 to 2017, he served as First Deputy Head of Service at the FSB Central Office. Oleg Khramov’s departure is due to reaching the age limit for civil service, a source told TASS. “Due to reaching the age limit for civil service,” the agency’s source explained. Khramov turned 70 on December 9.
Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev reported that by 2025, more than 400,000 military personnel had enlisted in military units and 34,000 in volunteer units. He added that the planned personnel levels had almost been reached. It has also been learned that the permit for the sale of Lukoil’s foreign assets has been extended until January 17, 2026, according to OFAC.
And now a look at the front line updated at 3:30 PM on December 11. During an air strike in the rear Overnight, 31 Ukrainian drones were shot down as they approached Moscow. Footage of the destruction of a chemical plant in Veliky Novgorod is circulating. Numerous Ukrainian drones flew in the Bryansk region, where 25 were shot down by midnight. In the evening, the windows and facades of several apartment buildings were damaged in Voronezh.
The Russian Armed Forces struck Kremenchuk, Odessa, Kryvyi Rih, Zaporizhia, and the Kyiv and Cherkasy regions. Power outages remain in effect throughout Ukraine.
In the direction of Sumy, the Russian Northern Group of Forces reported increased offensive operations supported by aviation, artillery, and TOS forces. In the Tetkino sectors and the Glushkovsky region, Russian forces struck Ukrainian Armed Forces positions and logistics in the Ryzhivka and Iskryskivshchyna areas.
The Belgorod region Massive MLRS attacks were sustained in the evening, with Russian air defenses active. In Belgorod, debris damaged private homes and cars.
Toward Kharkiv, the Northern Group of Forces reports advances in Vil’cha and the Khatnje sector. Russian forces are operating in the eastern part of Vil’cha, clearing occupied buildings.
In Seversk, the remnants of the Ukrainian armed forces are being evacuated. According to some accounts, Russia now controls 90% of the territory except the 10% of the western outskirts. Russian troops are consolidating their positions near Zakitne, to the northwest. In Myrnohrad, Russian forces are present in the central part of the encircled city.
In eastern Zaporizhia Oblast, the Vostok Group of Forces is breaking into the center of Hulyaijpole, where intense fighting is ongoing. Russian forces are pressing Ukrainian forces with all their firepower. Only one supply route remains for the Ukrainians, towards Orichiv, but it is under Russian fire.
On the Zaporizhia front, near Novodanylivka, positional battles are ongoing, with the situation unchanged. Russian troops continue protracted battles for Prymors’ke and Stepnohirs’k.
In the Kherson sector, Ukrainian forces shelled the Oleshkinsky district hospital. Three people were killed. Two people were injured, including a woman. All were medical workers.
The SBU in the Black Sea attacked the Dashan oil tanker of the Russian “shadow fleet.”
Graziella Giangiulio
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