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Zelensky says is ‘10 per cent’ away from deal to end war with Russia but not ‘at any cost’
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Ukraine and Russia exchanged drone strikes on each other’s energy grids as the New Year began, according to local officials.
Ukrainian drones on Thursday struck an energy storage facility in the Russian city of Almetyevsk, causing a fire that has since been extinguished, Russian media cited the press service of the local governor as saying.
Ukraine’s military said on Thursday it had hit Russia’s Ilsky oil refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar region overnight, as well as the Almetevskaya oil preparation facility in Russia’s Tatarstan region.
Meanwhile, a Russian drone attack damaged power infrastructure in several Ukrainian regions overnight, Ukraine’s energy ministry said on Thursday. The governor of Volyn said more than 103,000 households in that region had lost power as a result of the attack.
The strikes come as Volodymyr Zelensky said in his New Year’s Eve address that Ukraine is “10 per cent” away from a deal to end the war with Russia, but not “at any cost”.
Kyiv is also discussing the possibility of hosting US troops as part of peace talks with US president Donald Trump.
Kyiv’s forces exclusively targeted Russian military or energy sites, a Ukrainian military spokesperson said when asked about a drone strike on a hotel in a Russian-held part of Kherson region.
Speaking to Interfax Ukraine news agency on Thursday they said: “The Defence Forces of Ukraine adhere to the norms of international humanitarian law and strike exclusively at enemy military targets, fuel and energy facilities of the Russian Federation, and other legitimate targets…,”
Sam Kiley, The Independent’s World Affairs Editor, charts the 2025 Ukraine–Russia war timeline, detailing battlefield shifts, strained diplomacy, wavering support and the mounting civilian toll — with no end in sight.
A meeting of national security advisors “focused on peace” is set to take place in Ukraine this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
It’s set to be followed by a meeting of the military and of European leaders and the leaders of the Coalition of the Willing.
“Politically, almost everything is ready, and it is important to work through every detail of how the guarantees will function in the air, on land, and at sea – if we succeed in ending the war. And this is the key goal for all normal people,” Zelensky said in a post on X.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed victory in Ukraine in a defiant speech despite US President Donald Trump’s efforts to end the war.
Putin used his annual televised New Year’s address to rally his troops fighting in Ukraine, saying he believed in them and in victory in a war that he has framed as part of an existential struggle with the West.
It comes as Trump is trying to broker an end to the nearly four-year-old conflict, Europe’s bloodiest conflagration since World War Two, with both sides’ negotiating stances still far apart.
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Russia attacked the Ukrainian region of Odesa overnight, targeting civilian infrastructure in several waves of drone attacks, according to regional head Oleh Kiper.
In a post on Telegram, he said a two-storey residential building was damaged and a drone hit an apartment on the 17th floor of a high-rise building without detonating. There were no casualties reported.
Russia’s claim that Ukraine launched a 91-drone strike on Vladimir Putin’s personal residence has threatened to derail months of talks over a peace deal to end Moscow’s invasion.
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky has called the claims a “complete fabrication” intended to lay the groundwork for future strikes on Kyiv and other areas of Ukraine.
“I am sure they are simply preparing the ground for strikes, probably on the capital, probably on government buildings,” he said.
Maira Butt reports:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is discussing the possibility of hosting US troops as part of peace talks with US President Donald Trump.
Mr Zelensky said that a US troop presence in Ukraine would provide significant security guarantees for Kyiv.
The White House declined to comment on the issue.
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