A long night for the US and Ukrainian delegations at Mar-a-Lago, where the issue of territorial concessions was at the center of the debate. US President Trump sent the press away before the talks between Ukraine and the US began.
In recent days, the Kremlin has analyzed the information received from Dmitriev following his trip to the United States, Peskov said. At Putin’s suggestion, a meeting was held between representatives of the Russian and US administrations. Ushakov and several White House officials participated in this meeting.
A resolution to the Ukrainian conflict is indeed in sight, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Olga Skabeeva on the program “60 Minutes.” “I think we will all remember December 25, 2025, as a milestone, when we came close, really close, to a solution. But whether we manage to make the final effort and reach an agreement depends on us, on our work, on the political will of the other side.“ According to him, Kiev and its sponsors in Europe, while not committed to reaching an agreement, have ”redoubled their efforts to scupper it.”
Negotiations on Ukraine must proceed within the framework agreed at the Anchorage summit; this is imperative,“ Sergei Ryabkov told Olga Skabeeva on the program ”60 Minutes.”
The 20-point resolution plan released by Ukraine differs radically from what Russia is discussing in negotiations with the US, Sergei Ryabkov pointed out in an interview with Olga Skabeeva on the program “60 Minutes”: “This plan, if you can call it that, differs radically from the 27 points we have been working on over the past few weeks, since early December, in our contacts with the American side.”
A few hours before the start of the summit in the United States, the head of Ukrainian intelligence, Budanov, reported: “There will be a chance to reach a peace agreement in February.”
Ukraine needs $700-800 billion for recovery, Volodymyr Zelensky explained: “Kiev is working with Washington on a roadmap for Ukraine’s prosperity,” he said.
Vladimir Putin held a meeting at one of the Joint Forces Group command posts on the situation in the special military operations zone, the Kremlin reports. Putin listened to a report from the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov. The commanders of the Central and Eastern forces groups, as well as the commanders of the units, reported on the progress of combat missions, in particular on the liberation of the cities of Myrnohrad in the Donetsk People’s Republic and Huljajpole in the Zaporizhia region. “The creation of a security zone in the border regions of Ukraine is proceeding well,” Putin said. Gerasimov said that “the takeover of the Donbass, Zaporizhia, and Kherson regions will continue. After the capture of Severs’k, the Russian army is advancing at an accelerated pace towards Slov’jans’k.”
If Kiev is unwilling to resolve everything peacefully, Russia will resolve all issues by force, Putin said. “Russia’s interest in the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the occupied territories has been reduced to zero, given the pace of the Russian army’s advance,” the head of state stressed.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is not optimistic about the Mar-a-Lago talks: “The Russian authorities do not believe that Kiev is ready to negotiate constructively to resolve the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.” “The Ukrainian armed forces are continuing their attempts to change the situation on the front, where the Russian army has firmly taken the strategic initiative.”
Lavrov added: “If military contingents from the ‘coalition of the willing’ from Europe were to arrive in Ukraine, they would become a legitimate target for the Russian armed forces,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with TASS.
A telephone conversation between Russian and US presidents Putin and Trump did indeed take place, Peskov confirmed to TASS. Ushakov spoke about the conversation between Putin and Trump, the key points of which are: “The conversation was organized on Trump’s initiative; he wanted to discuss a number of issues with Putin before meeting Zelensky. It lasted 1 hour and 15 minutes and was friendly, welcoming, and professional. Putin emphasized to Trump the fundamental importance of continuing to develop the agreements reached in Anchorage and during bilateral contacts. The presidents share similar views that a temporary ceasefire under the pretext of a referendum will only prolong the conflict. Trump said he was convinced of Russia’s desire for a political and diplomatic solution to the situation. Putin agreed with Trump’s proposal to continue working on an agreement within two specially created working groups, one on security and the other on economic issues. The leaders agreed to negotiate after Trump’s contacts with Zelenskyy. “For a definitive cessation of hostilities, Kiev needs a political solution regarding Donbass.”
And now a look at the front line as of 3:30 p.m. on December 28. Kupjans’k has been the topic of the week on social media, where Russian forces initially occupied several areas, but then the Ukrainian armed forces’ counteroffensive repelled the Russian troops. Currently, the Russian garrison in the controlled part of Kupjans’k is conducting a local defense and preventing the Ukrainians from advancing further, despite supply difficulties (mainly with drones).
Reports of the capture of Myrnohrad were confirmed by the report to Vladimir Putin on the collapse of the Ukrainian armed forces’ defenses by Chief of Staff Gerasimov.
The capture of Huljajpole by the Eastern forces group in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast has been recorded. On the Zaporizhzhia front, months of heavy fighting with heavy losses on both sides near Prymors’ke and Stepnohirs’k are bringing a strategic victory to the Russian side. Putin has been informed of the capture of the latter. In Prymors’ke, the Russians and Ukrainians fought house to house this week, and it appears that the Russians, supported by drones, have managed to make progress.
Attacks on several power plants in Kiev and the surrounding region have led to large-scale power and heating outages for the population and dual-use facilities. Similar attacks have been carried out in the Odessa and Mykolaïv regions. There are also complaints from Ukraine about attacks on the railway infrastructure that provides transport from Poland to Ukraine.
The Ukrainian armed forces continue to destroy Russia’s economic potential without further ado. The Stavrolen chemical plant in the Stavropol Territory was hit, an oil pipeline caught fire at a terminal in the village of Volna in the Temryuk district, and two berths and two ships were damaged. Two oil tanks caught fire in the port of Temryuk. The systematic drone attacks by the Ukrainian armed forces against the same targets demonstrate the insufficient effectiveness of Russian air defense systems, even at the interagency level.
Graziella Giangiulio
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