US special envoy Steve Witkoff will meet Ukraine’s national security council head Rustem Umerov in Miami on Thursday, the White House confirmed, following Witkoff’s nearly five-hour talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday. The Kremlin said those US-Russia discussions produced “no compromise” on ending the war.
President Trump, who sent Witkoff and attended part of the Moscow talks with his son-in-law Jared Kushner, called the meetings “reasonably good” but warned it was too early to predict outcomes, saying “it does take two to tango.” Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha urged Russia to “end the bloodshed,” accusing Putin of “wasting the world’s time.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky said a US–Ukraine negotiators’ meeting would occur “in the coming days,” adding on X that the world now senses “a real opportunity to end the war,” while insisting any talks must be “backed by pressure on Russia.”
The Kremlin said some US proposals were “more or less acceptable” though others had drawn Putin’s criticism. At least two major sticking points remain: the fate of Ukrainian territory seized by Russian forces and security guarantees for Ukraine. Kyiv and its European allies argue that NATO membership would be the strongest long-term deterrent against future Russian attacks. Russia opposes that, and Trump has signalled he would not support Ukrainian accession. The Kremlin said the prospect of NATO membership was a “key question” in Moscow.
Yuri Ushakov, a senior foreign-policy aide to Putin, suggested recent Russian battlefield gains had strengthened Moscow’s negotiating position, saying Russian soldiers had “helped make the assessments of our foreign partners regarding the paths to a peace settlement more appropriate.” Putin was filmed in military fatigues being briefed on claimed advances around the strategic eastern city of Pokrovsk; fighting there continues and Russia does not control the entire city. Analysts say Russian forces have made incremental gains and stepped up operations in recent weeks. AFP, using data from the Institute for the Study of War, reported Russian forces seized about 701 sq km (270 sq miles) of Ukrainian territory in November and now control roughly 19.3% of Ukraine.
The Kremlin said Putin was ready to keep meeting with US envoys “as many times as needed.” But while Russian-American contacts appear to be warming, relations between Moscow and Europe have worsened. Putin accused Europe of sabotaging Russia–US ties and blocking the peace process, and said he was “ready for war” despite not seeking conflict with Europe. The UK government dismissed Putin’s overtures as “Kremlin claptrap,” and NATO foreign ministers in Brussels welcomed talks but stressed Ukraine must be left “in the strongest position to keep the fight going,” according to Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
Separately, EU member states and the European Parliament reached a deal to end Russian gas imports by 2027: long-term pipeline contracts would be banned from September 2027 and long-term LNG contracts from January 2027. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen called it “the dawn of a new era,” and the Commission proposed raising €90bn to support Ukraine’s military and basic services while the war continues. The plan would either use a “reparations loan” backed by frozen Russian assets held in Belgium or be funded through international borrowing. Belgium has resisted using assets on its soil, citing legal concerns, and the ECB opposed acting as a backstop. The proposed package is smaller than an initially planned €140bn loan; German foreign minister Johann Wadephul said Germany supported the plan while taking Belgium’s concerns seriously. Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko welcomed the proposal, which would cover roughly two-thirds of Ukraine’s financing needs for the next two years.
In New York, the United States joined 90 countries at the United Nations in demanding Russia “ensure the immediate, safe and unconditional return of all Ukrainian children who have been forcibly transferred or deported,” urging Moscow to stop the practice. The Ukrainian government says more than 19,000 children have been deported to Russia; the UK estimates about 6,000 have been moved to a network of “re-education camps.” In 2023 the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin in part over the unlawful deportation of children, charges Moscow denies.
