US special envoy Steve Witkoff will meet Ukraine’s national security adviser Rustem Umerov in Miami on Thursday, the White House said, following Witkoff’s almost five-hour session with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday. The Kremlin characterized the US–Russia discussions as producing “no compromise” on ending the war.
Former President Donald Trump, who sent Witkoff and observed part of the Moscow talks alongside his son-in-law Jared Kushner, called the meetings “reasonably good” but cautioned it was too early to judge results, noting that “it does take two to tango.” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha urged Russia to “end the bloodshed,” accusing Putin of wasting international time.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said US and Ukrainian negotiators would meet “in the coming days,” writing on X that the world senses “a real opportunity to end the war” while stressing any progress must be accompanied by pressure on Russia.
The Kremlin said some US proposals were “more or less acceptable” but that others drew Putin’s criticism. Two major unresolved issues are the status of Ukrainian territory seized by Russian forces and the security guarantees Kyiv would receive. Ukraine and many European allies say NATO membership would be the strongest long-term deterrent to further aggression; Russia opposes NATO expansion and Trump has indicated he would not back Ukrainian accession. The Kremlin described the prospect of NATO membership as a “key question.”
A senior Putin aide, Yuri Ushakov, suggested recent battlefield gains had strengthened Moscow’s negotiating hand, saying Russian soldiers had influenced foreign partners’ assessments of peace options. Putin was filmed in military fatigues being briefed on claimed advances near the eastern city of Pokrovsk; fighting there continues and Russia does not control the whole city. Analysts say Russian forces have made incremental gains and intensified operations in recent weeks. AFP, citing 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 is willing to meet US envoys “as many times as needed.” While Russian–American contacts appear to be warming, relations between Moscow and Europe have deteriorated. Putin accused Europe of undermining Russia–US ties and blocking progress on a peace process, and said he was “ready for war” while claiming he did not seek conflict with Europe. The UK dismissed those overtures as “Kremlin claptrap.” NATO foreign ministers in Brussels welcomed dialogue but emphasized that Ukraine must be left “in the strongest position to keep the fight going,” a position echoed by leaders including Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
Separately, EU member states and the European Parliament agreed a plan 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 the move “the dawn of a new era.” The Commission also proposed raising €90 billion to support Ukraine’s military needs and basic services while the war continues. That package would be financed either through a “reparations loan” backed by frozen Russian assets held in Belgium or by international borrowing. Belgium has resisted using assets on its soil over legal concerns, and the European Central Bank opposed acting as a backstop. The proposed €90 billion is smaller than a previously floated €140 billion plan; German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Germany supports the revised proposal while taking Belgium’s concerns seriously. Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko welcomed the plan, 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 that Russia ensure the “immediate, safe and unconditional return of all Ukrainian children who have been forcibly transferred or deported,” calling on Moscow to end the practice. Kyiv says more than 19,000 children have been deported to Russia; the UK estimates about 6,000 have been placed in a network of so-called “re-education camps.” In 2023 the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin in part over alleged unlawful deportation of children, charges the Kremlin denies.