PARIS: Key Ukrainian allies were to huddle with top US envoys in Paris on Tuesday to discuss security guarantees, as they press ahead on US-brokered plans to end the war with Russia. The summit of the group of Ukraine supporters dubbed the &quot;Coalition of the Willing&quot; is the latest of several meetings planned for the new year as diplomatic efforts to end Europe&#39;s deadliest conflict since World War II have gained pace in recent weeks. Representatives of 35 countries, including 27 heads of state, will gather in Paris, with the French presidency saying the meeting aims to show the &quot;alignment&quot; between Washington, Kyiv, and European allies on security guarantees for Ukraine. US President Donald Trump&#39;s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner will attend the meeting of the coalition, launched in the spring by France and the United Kingdom. An adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron said the new meeting is the culmination of efforts launched after Donald Trump&#39;s arrival at the White House to prevent &quot;the United States from abandoning Ukraine.&quot; &quot;We have succeeded in this exercise of realignment between Ukraine, Europe, and America,&quot; the adviser told journalists on Monday. According to diplomatic sources, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is also expected to attend, along with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italy&#39;s Giorgia Meloni, and Canada&#39;s Mark Carney. The leaders are set to commit in particular to their shared vision of what a ceasefire would look like between Ukraine and Russia, and their response in case of violations. They will also discuss the deployment of a multinational force to &quot;reassure Ukraine&quot; as part of a possible political agreement, the French presidency said, with decisions still being &quot;finalized&quot; on Monday. To lay the groundwork, security advisers from 15 countries, including Britain, France, and Germany, as well as representatives from NATO and the European Union, gathered in Kyiv over the weekend, with Witkoff joining virtually. Kyiv said in recent days a deal was &quot;90%&quot; ready, though both Moscow and Kyiv remain at odds over the key issue of territory in any post-war settlement. Russia, which occupies around 20% of Ukraine, is pushing for full control of the country&#39;s eastern Donbas region as part of a deal. But Kyiv has warned that ceding ground will embolden Moscow and said it will not sign a peace deal that fails to deter Russia from invading again.

Europe

The summit of the group of Ukraine supporters dubbed the "Coalition of the Willing" is the latest of several meetings planned for the new year as diplomatic efforts to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II have gained pace in recent weeks.

Ukraine's European, US allies meet in Paris on security guarantees

KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday said he intended to replace his defense minister and had offered the position to his current minister of digital transformation, who is aged just 34. &quot;I have decided to change the structure of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense,&quot; Zelensky said in his daily address broadcast on social media. &quot;I have offered Mikhailo Fedorov the position of new Ukrainian defense minister.&quot; Fedorov, who has been the digital transformation minister since 2019, is a relative political novice, little-known to the Ukrainian public. &quot;Mykhailo is deeply involved in issues related to drones and is very effective in the digitalization of state services and processes,&quot; Zelensky added. Without explaining his decision to replace Denys Shmygal, the Ukrainian leader said he had proposed the incumbent &quot;head another area of government work that is no less important for our stability.&quot; Zelensky had tapped Shmygal as defense minister just half a year ago, in July 2025. Besides the turnover at the defense ministry, Zelensky also named Ukrainian military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov to head his presidential office. Budanov replaces Andriy Yermak, who was among Ukraine&#39;s most powerful people before being engulfed in a corruption scandal dogging some of Zelensky&#39;s former allies.

Fedorov is a relative political novice little-known to the Ukrainian public; Ukrainian leader said he had proposed the incumbent "head another area of government work that is no less important for our stability."

Zelensky says wants to replace Ukraine's defense minister

KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday his country was &quot;10%&quot; away from a peace deal with Russia, but cautioned that the most important issues were still unsolved and that any agreement should not reward Moscow. In his New Year&#39;s Eve address, the wartime president said his country wanted an end to the war but not at &quot;any cost,&quot; and that any agreement needed strong security guarantees to deter Russia from invading again. &quot;The peace agreement is 90% ready. 10% remains. And that is far more than just numbers,&quot; Zelensky said in the address, posted on his Telegram account. &quot;Those are the 10% that will determine the fate of peace, the fate of Ukraine and Europe,&quot; he added. The United States has sought to craft a peace deal with input from both Moscow and Kyiv, but has failed to reach a breakthrough on the key issue of territory in a post-war settlement. Russian President Vladimir Putin has been pushing for full control of Ukraine&#39;s eastern Donbas region as part of a deal, but Zelensky said in his address that he did not believe Russia would stop at the Donbas if Ukraine withdrew. &quot;&#39;Pull out from the Donbas, and it will all be over.&#39; That is how deception sounds when translated from Russian &mdash; into Ukrainian, into English, into German, into French, and, in fact, into any language in the world,&quot; he said.

Russian President Putin has been pushing for full control of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region as part of a deal, but Zelensky says he did not believe Russia would stop at the Donbas if Ukraine withdrew.

We are '10%’ away from peace, Zelensky tells Ukrainians

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday strongly condemned the reported targeting of the residence of Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling it a grave threat to peace and regional stability.&nbsp;In a statement posted on social media platform X, the prime minister said Pakistan stood in solidarity with the government and people of the Russian Federation and reiterated Islamabad&rsquo;s firm rejection of all forms of violence aimed at undermining peace and security. <div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2005822489709142201&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fsections%2F&sessionId=92548bd0643675c14bf9567fc2f63c551b5729ac&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 345px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" data-tweet-id="2005822489709142201"></iframe></div></div>The statement comes hours after Russia accused Ukraine of launching a large-scale <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/russia-says-ukraine-attacked-putins-home-kyiv-calls-this-lie" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">attack on one of President Vladimir Putin&rsquo;s residences</a> &mdash; an allegation Kyiv dismissed as false and politically motivated.&nbsp;Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed that Ukraine fired 91 long-range unmanned aerial vehicles at Putin&rsquo;s residence in the Novgorod region between late Sunday and early Monday, all of which were allegedly intercepted. No evidence was provided.&nbsp;Lavrov warned that Russia would reconsider its negotiating position, accusing Kyiv of shifting toward what he described as &ldquo;state terrorism.&rdquo;&nbsp;Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected the accusation, calling it &ldquo;a complete fabrication&rdquo; aimed at undermining US-led peace efforts.&nbsp;US President Donald Trump, who held a phone call with President Putin earlier on Monday, criticised the timing of the alleged incident.&nbsp;&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t like it. It&rsquo;s not good,&rdquo; Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago residence. &ldquo;You know who told me about it? President Putin told me about it.&rdquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a delicate period of time. This is not the right time,&rdquo; he added.

Foreign Affairs

Calls it a grave threat to peace and regional stability.

PM Sharif condemns attack on Russian president’s residence

KYIV: The US has offered Ukraine &quot;solid&quot; security guarantees for 15 years with a possibility of an extension but Kyiv is seeking a longer period, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday after meeting Donald Trump. Zelensky held talks with Trump in Florida, where the US leader said a deal to end almost four years of war with Russia was closer than ever. The wartime president said the issue of territory and the future of Ukraine&#39;s Moscow-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant were the remaining unresolved parts of a plan to end the war. But Zelensky added that he considered the presence of international troops in Ukraine a necessary part of the guarantees, which Russia has rejected in the past. Still, the Kremlin agreed with Trump&#39;s assessment that talks were in their final stages while repeating its maximalist demand for Kyiv to withdraw from eastern Ukraine. Kyiv was hoping for a meeting with European and American officials in Ukraine in the &quot;coming days&quot; to work on documents to end the conflict, Zelensky said. Any deal to end Europe&#39;s worst conflict since WWII &quot;must be signed by Ukraine, Russia, the US and Europe&quot;, he said. Security guarantees were a priority for Kyiv. &quot;Without security guarantees, this war cannot be considered truly over. We cannot acknowledge that it has ended, because with such a neighbour there remains a risk of renewed aggression,&quot; Zelensky said. He had told Trump the 15-year offer was too short a period for Kyiv. &quot;I told him that we really want to consider the possibility of 30, 40, 50 years,&quot; he added. &quot;The president said he would think about it.&quot; Strikes us with missilesZelensky spoke as Russia continued its relentless attacks into the holiday season and pressed on with its maximalist demands in Ukraine. Zelensky repeated that Kyiv was ready for &quot;any&quot; format of meetings -- including with Putin if necessary -- but said he still did not think the Kremlin chief wanted peace. He accused Putin of misleading Trump. &quot;On the one hand, he tells the president of the United States that he wants to end the war and that this is his desire,&quot; Zelensky said. &quot;And on the other hand...he strikes us with missiles (and) gives instructions to his generals about where to advance.&quot; Putin has for weeks told Russians Moscow was intent on achieving its aims in Ukraine by force if diplomacy fails. Moscow wants to keep all the territory it occupies in Ukraine as well as be handed lands in eastern Ukraine still controlled by Kyiv. The Kremlin on Monday again called for Ukraine to withdraw from unoccupied parts of Donbas, warning that &quot;Ukraine is losing territory and will continue to do so.&quot; It said it expected Putin and Trump to speak by phone in the &quot;very near future.&quot; Territory issue unresolved&nbsp;Trump on Sunday acknowledged the issue of territories were unresolved between the warring countries, showing little sign of a breakthrough. &quot;It&#39;s unresolved, but it&#39;s getting a lot closer. That&#39;s a very tough issue, but one that I think will get resolved,&quot; Trump said. Zelensky also said it was a remaining issue and offered little detail, only saying: &quot;We will act in accordance with the interests of Ukraine.&quot; The current plan, revised after weeks of intense US-Ukrainian negotiations, would stop the war at the current frontlines in the eastern Donbas region and set up a demilitarized area, while Russia has long demanded territorial concessions. But the Kremlin has shown no sign of compromise, with Putin repeatedly saying his troops will seize the rest of Ukrainian land he has proclaimed as Russian. Outnumbered and exhausted Ukrainian troops have struggled to hold back a Russian advance, which picked up pace since autumn. Moscow on Monday said it took another village, Dibrova, in the Donetsk region.

US has offered Ukraine "solid" security guarantees for 15 years with a possibility of an extension, but Kyiv is seeking a longer period, President Volodymyr Zelensky said after meeting Donald Trump

US offered Kyiv 15 years of security guarantees, Zelensky says

PALM BEACH: US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that a deal was closer than ever to end Russia&#39;s invasion of Ukraine, but reported no apparent breakthrough on the flashpoint issue of territory after new talks with the warring countries&#39; leaders. Trump, who had promised a peace deal on day one of his nearly year-old presidency, said it would become clear within weeks whether it was possible to end the war that has killed tens of thousands of people since February 2022. In a pre-New Year&#39;s diplomatic sprint, Trump brought Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Florida, where the two met with top aides over lunch, a day after Russia unleashed major new attacks on residential areas of the capital Kyiv. Much like when Zelensky last met Trump in October, Russian President Vladimir Putin also spoke shortly beforehand by telephone with the US leader, who immediately insisted that Moscow was &quot;serious&quot; about peace despite the assault. &quot;I really believe we&#39;re, Mr. President, probably closer than &mdash; far closer than &mdash; ever before with both parties,&quot; Trump said with Zelensky at his side in the tea room of his Mar-a-Lago estate. &quot;Everybody wants it ended,&quot; Trump said. After their talks, Zelensky and Trump spoke jointly by telephone with key European leaders, who have been particularly alarmed about any decisions that would embolden Russia. Zelensky said that he and European leaders could return jointly for talks with Trump in Washington in January. The Ukrainian president stayed studiously polite throughout his visit, mindful of his disastrous White House meeting on February 28, where Trump and Vice President JD Vance publicly berated him for not being sufficiently grateful. Territory impasse Trump, for all his stated optimism, gave few details on the progress he cited, instead digressing into familiar grievances about his predecessor Joe Biden, who committed billions of dollars for Ukraine&#39;s defense, and speaking of his own friendly rapport with Putin. Trump acknowledged continued disagreement between Kyiv and Moscow on territory. The current plan, revised after weeks of intense US-Ukrainian negotiations, would stop the war at the current frontlines in the eastern Donbas region and set up a demilitarized area, while Russia has long demanded territorial concessions. &quot;It&#39;s unresolved, but it&#39;s getting a lot closer. That&#39;s a very tough issue, but one that I think will get resolved,&quot; Trump said. Trump offered to address the Ukrainian parliament to promote the plan &mdash; an idea, however unlikely, that Zelensky was quick to welcome. Zelensky has voiced an openness to the revised US plan, marking Kyiv&#39;s most explicit acknowledgement yet of possible territorial concessions, although Ukrainian voters would need to approve it in a referendum. By contrast, Russia has shown no signs of compromise, as it sees hope in the grinding gains it has made over four years against tough Ukrainian defenses. The Kremlin, in its readout of talks between Putin and Trump, called on Kyiv to make a &quot;brave decision&quot; and immediately withdraw troops from Donbas, casting European leaders as the impediment to peace. &quot;Russia and the United States share the same position, which is that the Ukrainian and European proposal for a temporary ceasefire (...) would only prolong the conflict and lead to a resumption of hostilities,&quot; the Kremlin&#39;s diplomatic advisor Yuri Ushakov told reporters. &#39;90%&#39; agreed by Ukraine Trump&#39;s advisors have previously floated the idea of offering NATO-like security guarantees to Ukraine, meaning in theory that the alliance&#39;s members would respond militarily if Russia attacks again. Zelensky said that the peace framework laid out by Trump was &quot;90% agreed&quot; and that &quot;US-Ukraine security guarantees: 100% agreed.&quot; Zelensky said the two sides were still finalizing a &quot;prosperity plan&quot; for Ukraine as well as the sequencing of the various actions. Russia had adamantly rejected any entrance of the former Soviet republic into NATO. In its latest assault with drones and missiles, Russia knocked out power and heating to hundreds of thousands of residents during freezing temperatures. &quot;If the authorities in Kyiv don&#39;t want to settle this business peacefully, we&#39;ll resolve all the problems before us by military means,&quot; Putin said on Saturday.

Americas

US president says it will become clear within weeks whether it was possible to end the war that has killed tens of thousands of people since February 2022; Zelensky says he and European leaders could return jointly for talks with Trump in Washington in January.

Trump says Ukraine deal closer but no talks breakthrough

KYIV: Volodymyr Zelensky is due to meet President Donald Trump in Florida this weekend, but Russia accused the Ukrainian president and his EU backers Friday of seeking to &quot;torpedo&quot; a US-brokered plan to stop the fighting. Sunday&#39;s meeting to discuss new peace proposals comes as Trump intensifies efforts to end Europe&#39;s worst conflict since World War II, one that has killed tens of thousands since February 2022. The 20-point plan would freeze the war on its current front line but open the door for Ukraine to pull back troops from the east, where demilitarized buffer zones could be created, according to details revealed by Zelensky this week. Ahead of the talks, AFP journalists reported several powerful explosions in Kyiv on Saturday, and authorities warned of a possible missile attack. &quot;Explosions in the capital. Air defense forces are operating. Stay in shelters!&quot; Kyiv&#39;s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said on Telegram. Ukraine&#39;s air force announced a countrywide air alert and said drones and missiles were moving over several regions, including Kyiv. Zelensky&#39;s office said earlier that a meeting with Trump is planned for Sunday in Florida, where the US leader has a home. Trump, speaking to news outlet Politico, said about Zelensky&#39;s plan that &quot;he doesn&#39;t have anything until I approve it&quot;, adding: &quot;So we&#39;ll see what he&#39;s got.&quot; Zelensky, meanwhile, said he held telephone talks on Friday with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and a host of other European leaders. A spokesperson for Britain&#39;s Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the leaders &quot;reiterated their unshakeable commitment to a just and lasting peace for Ukraine and the importance that talks continue to progress towards this in the coming days.&quot; Security guarantees&nbsp;The new plan formulated with Ukraine&#39;s input is Kyiv&#39;s most explicit acknowledgement yet of possible territorial concessions and is very different from an initial 28-point proposal tabled by Washington last month that adhered to many of Russia&#39;s core demands. Part of the plan includes separate US-Ukraine bilateral agreements on security guarantees, reconstruction, and the economy. Zelensky said those were changing daily. &quot;We will discuss these documents, security guarantees,&quot; he said of Sunday&#39;s meeting. &quot;As for sensitive issues, we will discuss (the eastern region of) Donbas and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, and we will certainly discuss other issues,&quot; he added. Russia signaled its opposition to the plan ahead of the Florida talks. The Kremlin said Friday that foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov had held telephone talks with US officials, and deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov criticised Zelensky&#39;s stance. Russia accuses the EU&nbsp;&quot;Our ability to make the final push and reach an agreement will depend on our own work and the political will of the other party,&quot; Ryabkov said on Russian television. &quot;Especially in a context where Kyiv and its sponsors &mdash; notably within the European Union, who are not in favor of an agreement &mdash; have stepped up efforts to torpedo it.&quot; He said the proposal drawn up with Zelensky&#39;s input &quot;differs radically&quot; from points initially drawn up by US and Russian officials in contacts this month. He said any deal had to &quot;remain within the limits&quot; fixed by Trump and Russia&#39;s President Vladimir Putin when they met in Alaska in August, or else &quot;no accord can be reached.&quot; Zelensky said this week there were still disagreements between Kyiv and Washington over the two core issues of territory and the status of the Zaporizhzhia plant. Washington has pushed Ukraine to withdraw from 20% of the eastern Donetsk region that it still controls &mdash; Russia&#39;s main territorial demand. It has also proposed joint US-Ukrainian-Russian control of Zaporizhzhia, Europe&#39;s largest nuclear plant, which Russia seized during the invasion. Zelensky said he could only give up more land if the Ukrainian people agree to it in a referendum, and he does not want Russian participation in the nuclear plant. Ukraine appears to have won some concessions in the new plan, which, according to Zelensky, removed a requirement for Kyiv to legally renounce its bid to join NATO as well as previous clauses on territory seized by Russia since 2014 being recognized as belonging to Moscow. But Moscow has shown little inclination to abandon its hardline territorial demands that Ukraine fully withdraw from Donbas and end efforts to join NATO. Zelensky said Ukrainian negotiators were not directly in touch with Moscow, but that the United States acted as intermediary and was awaiting Russia&#39;s response to the latest proposal. &quot;I think we will know their official response in the coming days,&quot; Zelensky said. &quot;Russia is always looking for reasons not to agree,&quot; he added.

Sunday's meeting to discuss new peace proposals comes as Trump intensifies efforts to end Europe's worst conflict since World War II, one that has killed tens of thousands since February 2022.

Russia lashes out at Zelensky ahead of new Trump talks on Ukraine plan

KYIV:&nbsp;Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that he would meet US President Donald Trump this weekend to discuss efforts to end Russia&#39;s invasion. &quot;Over the weekend, I think on Sunday, in Florida, we will have a meeting with President Trump,&quot; Zelensky said in a message to journalists. The latest round of US-Ukraine negotiations produced a 20-point plan to end the war, which has been sent to Moscow. &quot;We will discuss these documents, security guarantees,&quot; Zelensky said. &quot;As for sensitive issues, we will discuss Donbas and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, and we will certainly discuss other issues,&quot; he added. Zelensky said this week there was still disagreements between Kyiv and Washington over the two issues. Despite that, Ukraine won some concessions in the latest plan, which would freeze the frontline and remove a requirement for Kyiv to legally renounce its bid to join NATO, Zelensky said. The Ukrainian leader also indicated the plan opened the way to eventually pulling his troops back in the eastern Donetsk region and establishing a demilitarised zone -- positions Kyiv has previously been reluctant to accept. The Kremlin said Friday that foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov had held a telephone call with US officials to discuss the negotiations. It did not elaborate and has not indicated its position on the latest plan. Moscow has up to now shown little inclination to abandon its hardline territorial demands that Ukraine fully withdraw from the eastern region of Donbas and end efforts to join NATO. It also wants a ban on Western countries deploying peacekeeping troops in Ukraine and sweeping political and military restrictions that Kyiv says are tantamount to capitulation. Zelensky said Ukrainian negotiators were not directly in touch with Moscow, but that the United States acted as intermediary and was awaiting Moscow&#39;s response to the latest proposal.&quot;I think we will know their official response in the coming days,&quot; Zelensky said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would meet US President Donald Trump this weekend to discuss efforts to end Russia's invasion

Zelensky to meet Trump this weekend in Florida

KYIV: Ukraine pulled out troops from a town in the east after fierce battles, it said on Tuesday, as relentless Russian strikes killed three civilians and cut power to thousands in freezing winter temperatures. Kyiv had to withdraw forces from Siversk, a town in the heavily embattled Donetsk region, on the way to the two last strongholds held by Ukraine. Russia announced the capture of Siversk almost two weeks ago. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the pre-Christmas strikes showed that the Kremlin had no intention of ending the invasion it launched in February 2022. The attacks also came two days after US-mediated settlement talks in Miami, which lasted for a few days as the warring sides were working out the details of the Washington-proposed plan to end the war. There has been no sign of an imminent breakthrough in the diplomatic push. The Ukrainian army said that &quot;to preserve the lives of our soldiers and the combat capability of our units, Ukrainian defenders have withdrawn from the settlement&quot; of Siversk, adding that fighting was still ongoing on the outskirts. Moscow on Monday reported &quot;slow progress&quot; in talks over the US plan to end the war, as Kyiv and its European allies seek to adjust an initial proposal that adhered to many of Russia&#39;s hardline demands. Chernobyl endangered&nbsp;A Russian strike could collapse the internal radiation shelter at the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power station in Ukraine, the plant&#39;s director has told AFP. In an interview with AFP, plant director Sergiy Tarakanov said that fully restoring the shelter could take three to four years and warned that another Russian strike could cause the inner shell to collapse. &quot;If a missile or drone hits it directly, or even falls somewhere nearby, for example, an Iskander, God forbid, it will cause a mini-earthquake in the area,&quot; Tarakanov told AFP in an interview conducted last week. The Iskander is Russia&#39;s short-range ballistic missile system that can carry a variety of conventional warheads, including those designed to destroy bunkers. &quot;No one can guarantee that the shelter facility will remain standing after that. That is the main threat,&quot; he added. On the battlefield in the east, Russia&#39;s army claimed to have captured settlements in the Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions, in a grinding advance that has accelerated in recent weeks. Four-year-old killed&nbsp;Zelensky said a four-year-old child was killed in the central Zhytomyr region, where a Russian drone struck a residential building. Workers were scrambling to repair energy infrastructure hit in the attack, he said, which forced emergency power cuts across several regions in frigid winter weather. &quot;An attack ahead of Christmas, when people simply want to be with their families, at home, and safe. An attack carried out essentially in the midst of negotiations aimed at ending this war,&quot; he said. There were also deaths in the Kyiv and Khmelnytskyi regions. In Russia, one person was killed and three wounded, including a teenage boy, after Ukrainian drone barrages on the border region of Belgorod, its governor said. Ukraine&#39;s Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said energy facilities in the west of the country were most affected by the strikes. Russia&#39;s army said it had launched a massive strike using long-range drones and hypersonic missiles at military and energy sites. The southern Black Sea region of Odesa was also targeted again, as Russia steps up its attacks on the important port city. Olena Dolhachova, a 40-year-old maths teacher there, told AFP she had to resort to candles to do her work. &quot;There are attacks every week. Just when power is restored, all our schedules are disrupted again, we are left without electricity, without stability, sitting in the dark for two or three days,&quot; she said. &quot;It is very difficult.&quot;

Ukrainian President Zelensky says pre-Christmas strikes show Kremlin had no intention of ending the invasion it launched; there has been no sign of an imminent breakthrough in the diplomatic push.

Ukraine retreats in east as Russian strikes kill three, hit energy

MIAMI: US and Ukrainian envoys issued a joint statement on Sunday that hailed &quot;productive and constructive&quot; talks in Miami, but did not announce any apparent breakthrough in efforts to end the war with Russia. Top representatives of Ukraine and Russia, as well as Kyiv&#39;s European allies, have been in southern Florida over the past several days for a series of separate talks hosted by US President Donald Trump&#39;s special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Despite a flurry of high-level meetings in recent weeks, there have been no clear signals of imminent resolutions to key hurdles on ending the nearly four-year war. The diplomatic blitz came after Washington last month presented a 28-point plan on the war that was widely seen as echoing the Kremlin&#39;s demands. It has since been redrafted following Ukraine and Europe&#39;s involvement, though its contents have not been publicly disclosed. &quot;Over the last three days in Florida, the Ukrainian delegation held a series of productive and constructive meetings with American and European partners,&quot; Witkoff and Ukraine&#39;s top negotiator, Rustem Umerov, said in separate statements on X. They said a bilateral US-Ukraine meeting focused on developing and aligning positions on &quot;four key documents&quot; -- a &quot;20-point plan,&quot; a &quot;Multilateral security guarantee framework,&quot; a &quot;US Security guarantee framework for Ukraine&quot; and an &quot;economic &amp; prosperity plan.&quot; &quot;Particular attention was given to discussing timelines and the sequencing of next steps,&quot; they said, without announcing any further meetings. National security advisors from Kyiv&#39;s European allies &quot;also joined the discussions to align on a shared strategic approach between Ukraine, the United States, and Europe,&quot; the statements added. Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev was also in southern Florida and believed to have met with the US delegation, which includes billionaire real estate developer Witkoff and Trump&#39;s son-in-law Jared Kushner. A video on Russian state media showed Dmitriev arriving in a motorcade to Witkoff&#39;s Shell Bay luxury golf club. The Kremlin on Sunday said recent proposed changes to the plan to end the war were a non-starter. Dmitriev &quot;should receive information about what has been developed by the Americans and Europeans&quot; in the plan and report that back to Moscow later, Kremlin&#39;s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state TV. Moscow, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022, sees Europe as pro-war and argues its participation in the talks only hinders them. - War rages on -While little is known of the latest peace plans, Kyiv is likely to be expected to surrender some territory -- a prospect resented by many Ukrainians -- in exchange for US security guarantees. Though envoys from both Moscow and Kyiv were in town, the Kremlin had earlier ruled out three-way talks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier described the talks as &quot;constructive&quot; and said they were &quot;moving at a fairly rapid pace.&quot; He nevertheless cautioned that &quot;much depends on whether Russia feels the need to end the war for real.&quot; He also hailed this week as &quot;historic&quot; for Ukraine, thanking Europe for pledging $100 billion of funding over the next two years. Moscow&#39;s troops have been steadily advancing at the eastern front in recent months. Putin on Friday hailed the Russian army&#39;s territorial gains -- and threatened more in the coming weeks. Just over the week, &quot;Russia has launched approximately 1,300 attack drones, nearly 1,200 guided aerial bombs, and 9 missiles of various types&quot; against Ukraine, Zelensky said. Most of them have pummelled the Black Sea region of Odesa, where relentless strikes wrought havoc on ports, bridges and energy facilities, killing eight people Saturday. In the eastern Sumy region, Russian troops attempted a breakthrough in an area previously spared from an intense ground offensive. Russian forces forcibly moved 50 people from a local village, said Kyiv. &quot;Russian invaders have stolen five dozen civilian people, mostly elderly women, from a tiny Ukrainian village Grabovske, right across the state border in the Sumy region,&quot; Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said. Russia made no comment on the matter.

United States and Ukraine envoys issued joint statements hailing Miami talks as productive, yet did not announce any apparent breakthrough

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