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President optimistic about security guarantees as at least six people injured including three children in Russian attacks
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Ukraine is discussing the possibility of hosting US troops as part of peace talks with US president Donald Trump, President Volodymyr Zelensky says.
Mr Zelensky said a troop presence in his country would be a major security boost for Kyiv.
“Of course, we are discussing this with President Trump and with representatives of the [Western] coalition [supporting Kyiv]. We want this. We would like this. This would be a strong position of the security guarantees,” he said in a WhatsApp chat with the media.
Russian attacks on Ukraine continued overnight, wounding at least six people in air strikes on the Odesa region. Three children and a 42-year-old man were injured. More than 170,000 people have been left without power, according to Ukraine’s energy ministry.
The White House had no comment on the issue of dispatching US troops to Ukraine under any peace settlement with Russia.
Mr Zelensky also reiterated his commitment to continuing peace talks, saying that he is ready to meet Russian president Vladimir Putin “in any format”.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin has expressed confidence in his country’s eventual victory in the war.
In his traditional new year’s address to the nation, he gave special praise to troops deployed in Ukraine, describing them as heroes “fighting for your native land, truth and justice”.
“We believe in you and our victory,” Mr Putin said, as cited by Russian state news agency Tass.
He delivered his recorded speech against the backdrop of a snowy Kremlin, a tradition broken only in 2022 – the year the invasion began – when the Russian leader gave his address flanked by men and women in military fatigues.
Ukraine’s air force says Russia fired 127 drones at the country during the night, 101 of them intercepted by air defences.
The Russian defence ministry said 86 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight over Russian regions, the Black Sea and the Crimea peninsula – which was illegally annexed.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has reportedly suggested his US counterpart visit Ukraine.
“He talks about advocating a plan to end the war,” Mr Zelensky said of Donald Trump, answering questions in a group WhatsApp chat with reporters, according to ABC News.
“I told him that we would be glad to see him. It is very useful for Ukraine,” he said.
“If US President Trump flies to Ukraine – and it is desirable that he flies by plane not to Poland, but to Ukraine – this will indicate that we definitely have the opportunity to count on a ceasefire,” Mr Zelensky said.
On Sunday, the Ukrainian leader met Mr Trump at his at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
Ukrainian long-range drones struck the Temp oil depot in the Russian city of Rybinsk, an official from Kyiv’s SBU domestic security service says.
Officials said the attack on the facility, which the SBU said was a key logistics hub for fuel, sparked a large fire.
Crucial talks to end the war in Ukraine took place between Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump in the US on Sunday.
The meeting came after several months of back-and-forth discussions between Kyiv, Washington, Moscow, and Brussels, as world leaders attempted to broker a deal that would bring the nearly four-year conflict to an end.
Following the talks in Florida, Mr Trump said security guarantees for Ukraine were “close to 95 per cent” complete even as he cautioned that “thorny issues” remained unresolved.
You can read more below:
Volodymyr Zelensky lashed out at Russian “lies” about a drone attack on one of Vladimir Putin’s residences, accusing the latter of trying to undermine diplomatic efforts.
Moscow claimed that Kyiv carried out a massive assault on the presidential residence in Novgorod and said their negotiating position on a peace plan would be “revised” as a result.
Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov alleged that Ukraine had launched 91 long-range drones at the forest retreat on Lake Valdai overnight, but all had been shot down with no damage reported.
Mr Zelensky dismissed the claim as “lies” that he said were cynically intended to “undermine diplomacy and justify dragging out the war”.
The Independent’s James C. Reynolds has more below:
President Vladimir Putin has formally enacted changes granting Russia the unilateral right to ignore judgments issued by foreign and international courts in criminal cases.
This controversial decision comes as Ukrainian and European nations continue their concerted efforts to impose penalties on Moscow for its ongoing actions in Ukraine.
The measure appears to be a direct counter to several international initiatives aimed at prosecuting Russian officials and military officers for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, claims which the Kremlin steadfastly denies.
You can read more below:
President Zelensky has thanked Romania and Croatia after the countries made their first contributions to the PURL initiative.
The scheme provides military aid to Ukraine, and has provided the country with $4.3bn since its inception in July 2025.
In a post on X, Mr Zelensky wrote: “Thank you to Romania and Croatia for joining the PURL initiative and announcing their first contributions to it. This is an important initiative that makes it possible to purchase American weapons and bolster our defence, including missiles for Patriots and other capabilities we need.
“The total amount of contributions has reached $4.3 billion, including nearly $1.5 billion in December alone. This has made it possible to form eight assistance packages already, and work is currently underway to fund two more. We thank everyone who helped Ukraine this year and those who will continue to support us in 2026.
“We are bringing closer peace and guaranteed security for Ukraine and all of Europe.”
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