{"id":194652,"date":"2025-12-26T02:45:24","date_gmt":"2025-12-26T02:45:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-war-latest-zelensky-has-really-good-talks-with-trump-envoy-the-independent\/"},"modified":"2025-12-26T02:45:24","modified_gmt":"2025-12-26T02:45:24","slug":"ukraine-war-latest-zelensky-has-really-good-talks-with-trump-envoy-the-independent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-war-latest-zelensky-has-really-good-talks-with-trump-envoy-the-independent\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine war latest: Zelensky has \u2018really good\u2019 talks with Trump envoy – The Independent"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Zelensky\u2019s new 20-point peace plan is being analysed by Russian officials in Moscow
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Ukraine\u2019s President Volodymyr Zelensky<\/a> has hinted at progress on a peace deal between Russia<\/a> and Ukraine<\/a>, following a \u201creally good conversation\u201d with President Donald Trump\u2019s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, on Christmas Day.
\u201cIt was a really good conversation: many details, good ideas, that we discussed,\u201d Zelensky said on Telegram on Thursday. \u201cThere are some new ideas on how to bring the real peace closer, and it concerns formats, meetings, and, certainly, the timeline.\u201d
The talks come a day after Mr Zelensky unveiled<\/a> an updated 20-point peace plan. He said it offered the potential withdrawal of Ukraine troops from the east, with the creation of a demilitarised zone in the Donbas region.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the proposal had been brought to Moscow, and was now being analysed.
The peace discussions come as two people were killed after Russia launched more than 130 drones on Ukraine on Christmas night, Kyiv<\/a> officials said.
Moscow<\/a>\u2019s latest aerial assault killed one man in Kharvkiv and another in Odesa, with around 35 others injured, Ukraine\u2019s Air Force reported. Further attacks were launched overnight on Zaporizhzhia and Sumy.
Polish jets intercepted a Russian reconnaissance plane over the Baltic Sea, which was flying close to its airspace, the NATO country’s army said.
Countries on NATO’s eastern flank have been on high alert for potential airspace incursions since September when three Russian military jets violated Estonia’s airspace<\/a> for 12 minutes just days after more than 20 Russian drones<\/a> had entered Polish airspace.
\u201cThis morning, over the international waters of the Baltic Sea, Polish fighter jets intercepted, visually identified, and escorted from their area of \u200b\u200bresponsibility a Russian reconnaissance aircraft flying near the borders of Polish airspace,\u201d the army said.
It also said that at night, objects were observed entering Polish airspace from the direction of Belarus.
\u201cAfter detailed analysis, it was determined that these were most likely smuggling balloons, moving in accordance with the wind direction and speed,\u201d the army said.
It added that part of the airspace over northeast Poland’s Podlaskie region, which borders Belarus, was temporarily closed to civilian traffic to ensure security.
Russia’s foreign ministry accused the United States of reviving piracy and banditry in the Caribbean Sea by blockading Venezuela.
\u201cToday we are witnessing complete lawlessness in the Caribbean Sea, where long-forgotten theft of other people’s property, namely piracy, and banditry, are being revived,\u201d Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said of the situation.
\u201cWe consistently advocate for a de-escalation,\u201d Zakharova said. \u201cWe hope that the pragmatism and rationality of US President Trump will allow solutions to be found that are mutually acceptable to the parties within the framework of international legal norms.\u201d
\u201cWe confirm our support for the efforts of the government of Nicolas Maduro aimed at protecting sovereignty and national interests, and maintaining the stable and secure development of his country,\u201d she said.
Russia is unable to maintain its intensity of fighting due to demands on manpower and resources, according to the Institute for the Study of War.
\u201cISW recently assessed that Russian forces will likely continue to struggle to maintain the Kremlin\u2019s desired multi-pronged offensives in different directions due to the long-term materiel and manpower costs of these simultaneous operations,\u201d the ISW said in a statement on Thursday.
\u201cRussian efforts to start the battle for the Fortress Belt will likely further stretch Russian resources, and Russia will likely need to deprioritise other frontline sectors in order to concentrate even more forces to the Fortress Belt area.
\u201cThe Kremlin is therefore making demands in negotiations that Ukraine cede the unoccupied parts of Donetsk Oblast, likely in order to save Russia the personnel and materiel resources and possibly to put Russia in a more advantageous position to re-invade in the future to pursue Putin\u2019s longer-term strategic goal of controlling all of Ukraine.\u201d
The Ukrainian military attacked multiple Russian facilities overnight, hitting several strategic targets, military officials told the Kyiv Independent.
An oil refining facility, port and military airfield were struck according to the Ukrainian General Staff and a source from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), according to the publication.
The hit was orchestrated using drones of the Alpha Special Operations Centre of the SBU with the Temryuk Seaport in Krasnodar Krai and a gas processing plant in Orenburg Oblast targeted.
It is reported to have sparked fires in two oil storage tanks overnight.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky says he would be willing to withdraw troops from the country\u2019s eastern industrial heartland in an updated plan to end the war with Russia \u2013 if Moscow also pulled back from the area, creating a demilitarised zone.
Unveiling the latest 20-point plan thrashed out but not yet fully agreed with the US, Mr Zelensky said the Donbas region<\/a> could become a \u201cfree economic zone\u201d, but it was unclear how the fought-over area<\/a> would be governed or developed.
The peace plan, which Mr Zelensky said would need to be put before a referendum, could also involve a similar arrangement around the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which is currently under Russian control<\/a>.
The plan, presented to reporters on Christmas Eve by the Ukrainian leader, marked the latest counter-proposal to an original 28-point document that was agreed <\/a>by US envoy Steve Witkoff and the Russians.
Moscow has so far given no indication it will agree to withdrawal from land it has seized.
Read the full report here<\/em><\/a>
Ukraine<\/a> has unveiled the latest 20-point peace proposal brokered by the US to bring an end to the war<\/a> with Russia<\/a>.
Ukrainian and US delegations reached a consensus on several critical issues<\/a> in the latest round of talks in Miami.
However, Volodymyr Zelensky<\/a> said sensitive issues around territorial control<\/a> in the country\u2019s eastern industrial heartland, along with the management of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), remain unresolved.
Click here to see the full 20 point proposal.<\/a><\/a>
Appearing to refer to Russian president Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky said: \u201cToday, we all share one dream.
\u201cAnd we make one wish – for all of us. \u2018May he perish\u2019, each of us may think to ourselves. But when we turn to God, of course, we ask for something greater, we ask for peace for Ukraine. We fight for it, we pray for it, we deserve it.\u201d
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has alleged that Chinese satellites could be supporting Russia in its attacks on Ukraine.
\u201cThere have been correlations between Chinese satellite imaging of Ukrainian territory and Russian strikes on the corresponding energy infrastructure facilities,\u201d Zelensky said in a social media post on Wednesday following a meeting with Oleh Ivashchenko, head of Ukraine\u2019s Foreign Intelligence Service.
\u201cWe are recording increased ties between Russia and entities in China that may be providing space-based intelligence data.\u201d
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Ukrainian representatives and US negotiators have discussed ways to bring \u201creal peace closer\u201d during a conversation on Christmas Day.
\u201cIt was a really good conversation: many details, good ideas, that we discussed,\u201d Zelensky said on Telegram. \u201cThere are some new ideas on how to bring the real peace closer, and it concerns formats, meetings, and, certainly, the timeline.\u201d
Earlier, we reported that the Ukrainian leader had taken part in a conversation with US special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump\u2019s son-in-law and businessman Jared Kushner.
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
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