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Trump’s special envoy will speak to Russian president in renewed diplomatic effort to end war but both sides remain far from an agreement
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Volodymyr Zelensky has revealed that the US and Ukraine have agreed on a new 20-point peace deal, hours before talks between Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Vladimir Putin were held in the Kremlin.
The Ukrainian president said that the original 28-point roadmap proposed by the US last month – deemed by Europe and Kyiv to be heavily weighted towards Moscow’s demands – had been reworked into a new agreement following talks over the weekend.
“Some things still need to be worked out,” he told reporters on a visit to Dublin, adding that this marked “one of the most challenging and yet optimistic moments at the same time” for peace in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Witkoff arrived at the Kremlin at 2pm to meet Vladimir Putin for talks amid a renewed US push to end the war in Ukraine. He will be joined by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
The visit follows a flurry of diplomatic activity in the past fortnight involving US, Ukrainian and Russian officials. An original US-drafted plan to end the war caused consternation in Europe last month after it appeared to yield to Russia’s maximalist demands.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced a new and revised 20-point peace deal following discussions between Ukraine and the US.
Ukraine’s foreign minister said on Tuesday that recent comments by Russian president Vladimir Putin show Russia is threatening freedom of navigation in the Black Sea and is not ready to end its war on Ukraine.
“For the second day in a row, Putin makes statements that demonstrate that he does not plan to end the war,” Andrii Sybiha wrote on X.
“Yesterday he said he was prepared to fight through the winter. Today, he threatens sea ports and freedom of navigation.”
Russian president Vladimir Putin has met with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in the Kremlin on Tuesday, photographs released by the Russian media showed.
Putin aide Yuri Ushakov and envoy Kirill Dmitriev were also at the meeting, the photographs showed. Interpreters were also present.
Vladimir Putin on Tuesday claimed full control over the key Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk – though the claim was instantly denied by Kyiv.
For months, Russian and Ukrainian forces have fought house-to-house for the so-called fortress city in eastern Ukraine, once a vital logistics hub for the Ukrainian army, now a ruin separating the Russians from what remains of free Donetsk.
Victory would hand leverage to Putin at a critical time in the war, as a delegation of senior officials from Washington arrives in Moscow to talk through the narrowing paths to peace.
Nato is considering “pre-emptive” action against Russia following a string of hybrid attacks on Europe, a senior official in the alliance has warned.
Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, an Italian who serves as chair of the Nato Military Committee, said the alliance may need to adopt a more “aggressive” approach to deter Moscow from continuing its campaign of drone incursions and cyber attacks in Europe.
A recent Financial Times investigation revealed how Nato has been put on high alert after three vessels in the Baltic Sea were accused of dragging their anchors in a bid to damage energy and communication cables, with a total of 11 incidents recorded.
Other incidents include frequent cyber attacks on European countries and incursions of Russian drones into Nato airspace.
Read our full story below.
President Vladimir Putin has said Russia is ready to fight a war with Europe if it is provoked in his latest threat against the West.
The Russian leader said that he did not want a war with European powers but if they did, Russia was ready right now to fight.
He accused Europe of making demands on a possible peace settlement for Ukraine, which Russia finds absolutely unacceptable.
The comments come at the plenary session of the VTB Russia Calling Investment forum in Moscow on Tuesday.
Mark Rutte, Nato’s secretary general, said that he expected allies to make new contributions to the Prioritised Requirements List (PURL) program.
He added that he was confident that US-brokered talks to end the war would “restore peace in Europe”.
Volodymyr Zelensky has revealed that the US and Ukraine have agreed on a new 20-point peace deal, as talks between Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Vladimir Putin began in the Kremlin.
The Ukrainian president said that the original 28-point roadmap proposed by the US last month had been reworked into a new agreement following discussions between officials.
“Some things still need to be worked out,” he told reporters on a visit to Dublin, adding that this marked “one of the most challenging and yet optimistic moments at the same time” for peace in Ukraine.
Whether by accident or design, Vladimir Putin has a useful idiot running America. International diplomacy has been turned on its head, enemies made friends, allies threatened, international laws defoliated.
Russian strategic policy, known as the Gerasimov Doctrine, argues that chaos in the ranks of the enemy is victory and a path to greatness. By that standard Putin should be stringing up the bunting in the Kremlin.
He has achieved unimagined strategic effect by manipulating the Trump administration which has contorted itself in its efforts to force a Russian victory on Ukraine and against Europe.
The Independent’s world affairs editor Sam Kiley reports:
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