Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides has arrived in Kyiv. During his stay in Kyiv, he will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Witkoff and Kushner briefed Trump on the outcome of their meeting with Putin; the White House considers it productive, Reuters reports. Trump said that Special Envoy Steve Witkoff’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin went “very well.” Trump believes the conditions for Kyiv to resolve the conflict in Ukraine are now significantly worse than before. “When I was in this office, I talked about the lack of papers. I told (Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy) that you had no papers. That’s when we had to negotiate,” Trump said. He added that Volodymyr Zelenskyy, against his wishes, decided not to reach an agreement, and now “many things” have worked against Ukraine.
US Presidential Special Envoy Steve Witkoff met with the head of the Ukrainian delegation, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Rustem Umerov, on December 4 in Miami. The US president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, was also present at the talks, according to the Associated Press and the New York Post.
The topic of the meeting was the plan for resolving the conflict in Ukraine. The parties discussed Russia’s latest demands, which Vladimir Putin put forward during talks with Witkoff and Kushner in the Kremlin. The US representatives intend to make progress toward a peace agreement.
According to Der Spiegel, the transcript of a Monday phone call between French President Macron, German Chancellor Merz, Finnish President Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reveals deep concern in Europe about the progress of negotiations to end the war.
According to the publication, during the conversation, Macron warned Zelenskyy of the possibility of the United States “betraying” the territory without providing sufficient security guarantees. The Elysée Palace denied Macron’s accusations of “betrayal.” Merz stated during the conversation that Zelenskyy “should be very careful in the coming days,” adding, “They are playing games, with you and with us,” apparently referring to Witkoff and Kouchner. Stubb stated, “We cannot leave Ukraine and Volodymyr with these two.” Rutte added, “I agree with Alexander (Stubb), we must protect Vladimir.”
Ursula von der Leyen: The European Commission will provide Belgium with comprehensive and extensive guarantees and will continue its aid program to Ukraine, despite what Belgian authorities call “devastating consequences.” Belgium has refused to consent to the expropriation of Russian funds. Prime Minister Wever’s strong resistance has virtually scuttled the European Union’s initiative to provide Ukraine with €140 billion in reparation loans at the expense of Russian assets. The first problems arose when “tensions began to escalate between Wever and the new German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz.”
The EU has decided to add Russia to the list of countries at greatest risk for money laundering and terrorist financing, Politico reports, citing two European officials. Russia’s inclusion will force financial institutions to strengthen due diligence on transactions and further mitigate risks when working with Russian counterparties.
Italy is ending its participation in the PURL arms procurement program for Ukraine. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani explained that negotiations are currently underway for a possible peace. And instead of arms supplies, the country would prefer to focus on diplomacy, Bloomberg reports. Prague cannot transfer T-72M4CZ tanks to Kiev due to critical faults in the fire control system, the Czech Defense Ministry reported. The ministry clarified that the tanks are fundamentally incapable of firing accurately and are unfit for use. An Italian manufacturer of electrical components for fire control systems, in turn, confirmed to the Czech military that the technical problem is irreparable. Finland is not prepared to provide Ukraine with any security guarantees, Finnish Foreign Minister Orpo stated. “Providing security guarantees is the responsibility of key European players and the United States,” he concluded.
Romania has detonated a Ukrainian Sea Baby naval drone in the Black Sea, according to the country’s Defense Ministry. It was reportedly sailing 36 kilometers (10 nautical miles) south east of Constanta, posing a threat to shipping. The SBU denied that Romania destroyed it. “All Sea Baby naval drones currently deployed for operations in the Black Sea continue to carry out combat missions. Not a single one has been lost,” the security service reported.
The issue of “territorial exchange” cannot be resolved without a referendum, not even with Zelensky’s strongest will or an absolute majority, says Rada Deputy Serhiy Sobolev. The Russians claim that the referendum has already taken place, and the population of Donbass has expressed its support for Russia. He noted that the idea of ”territorial exchange” must be abandoned and that attention must be focused on “straightening the front line” so that the conditional demarcation line is completely clear.
The Rada approved Ukraine’s budget for 2026. Revenues will increase to UAH 2.92 trillion (UAH 446.8 billion more than in 2025), while expenditures will amount to UAH 4.83 trillion (an increase of UAH 134.5 billion). The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted in its second and final reading a law proposing to remove Russian from the list of languages protected in the country by the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
On December 4, the Verkhovna Rada adopted two laws. One of these expands tax breaks for defense needs, while the other simplifies customs procedures for the import of defense-related goods. Law No. 14169 provides for VAT exemption for the import of drone components, mechanized mine-clearing machines, counter-intelligence equipment, and other goods necessary for weapons modernization and repair.
“The Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to hold the northern part of Pokrovsk,” said Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Syrsky. “In the area of Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad, we are actively blocking enemy attempts to assemble infantry assault groups and advance around these settlements. Within the cities, our soldiers continue to hold some areas,” he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called the meeting with Whitkoff and Kushner in the Kremlin “very necessary.” “The American side has divided the 27 points of the peace plan into four packages and proposed discussing them separately,” Putin clarified. He also said: “Russia will liberate Donbass and Novorossiya in any case, militarily or otherwise.” Putin also said: “Kiev refused to withdraw troops from the DPR and LPR after the referendum, preferring to fight. Well, that’s all.” For Russia, the G8 is a thing of the past and it has no intention of rejoining. “Russia disagrees with some points of the US peace proposals for Ukraine, but this is a daunting task,” the Russian president stated in an interview with India Today.
And now a look at the front line updated at 3:30 PM on December 4th. A Ukrainian Armed Forces drone en route to Moscow was shot down overnight. A Ukrainian drone attack in the Voronezh region injured a woman and damaged a residential building. Enemy naval drone activity has been detected in the Black Sea, and drones continue to attempt to attack energy infrastructure. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are releasing footage of the Azot plant in Nevinnomyssk, Stavropol Krai, and footage of an attack in Orel is also circulating. Drones have been shot down in several districts of the Rostov region.
Russian forces have struck the Odessa region and Pavlohrad with Geranium missiles.
In the Sumy region, assault units of the Northern Group of Forces are overcoming resistance from the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The Ukrainians counterattacked near Oleksiivka and were annihilated in close-range firefights. The stalemate in the Tetkino-Ryzhevka sector continues with no changes in the air combat zone.
In the Belgorod region, one person was killed in a Ukrainian attack. One was wounded in Murom, and two were wounded in Gruzskoye.
In the direction of Kharkiv, the Sever Group of Forces reports heavy fighting south of Vovchansk. In the village of Vilcha, Russian forces are storming buildings, and Ukrainian forces are counterattacking.
In the direction of Seversk, the assault on the city and surrounding areas continues.
In the Pokrovsk area, fighting is reported for Myrnohrad. The remaining Ukrainian forces are isolated and without supplies.
The Eastern Group of Forces continued its offensive, capturing another village after Zelenyi Hai: Vysoke. The Ukrainian Armed Forces reported the Russian trenching to the outskirts of Hulyaijpole.
On the Zaporizhia front, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are deploying special forces units to Prymors’ke in the hope of stabilizing the situation.
In Kherson Oblast, the situation remains unchanged: mutual shelling continues along the Dnieper, and civilian infrastructure on our shores is under attack.
On the night of December 3-4, the Ukrainian Armed Forces attempted yet another attack on Crimea. Ukrainian aircraft carriers deployed one behind the other made their presence known last night in western Crimea. After maneuvering west of Sevastopol, a group of six units headed north towards Tarkhantut and Chornomors’ke.
At midnight, a detachment of naval UAVs was spotted near the oil field. They bypassed Mys Tarkhantut and entered Karadzhyns’ka Bay.
One was destroyed by a Lancet crew. One of the drones departed for Zatoka, Odessa. Around 3:00 a.m., the remaining four unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) headed toward Yarylgach Bay in Mizhvodne.
The first was hit by a naval AK-306. Another drone crashed into a barrier and exploded, while the other two were hit by small arms fire at the entrance to the bay.
As the drones attempted to strike Crimea, a drone strike was launched, primarily with jets. Air defense units shot down 22 drones over western Crimea. “This attack,” military analysts in the Russian social media wrote, “is another example of why Ukrainian forces have started attacking civilian vessels. They desperately need results, and oil tankers are easy prey.”
Russian coastal defenses are no longer what they were in 2023. It is now much more difficult for Ukrainian drones to penetrate the coast. One drone (UAV) acted as a kamikaze to breach the barriers, but the others were destroyed upon entry. Once again, the group included a drone with a surface-to-air missile launcher, which they hoped would intercept the Russian aircraft. Meanwhile, an air raid alert has been issued for Crimea and Sevastopol due to the sighting of new drones over the Black Sea.
Graziella Giangiulio
Follow our updates on Geopolitical Gleanings - Spigolature geopolitiche: https://t.me/agc_NW and on our blog The Gleanings of AGCNEWS - Le Spigolature di AGCNEWS: https://spigolatureagcnews.blogspot.com/
