Amid intense diplomatic efforts to end the Ukraine war, Volodymyr Zelensky have said that the Kremlin’s claims of progress on the battlefield are exaggerated and that Kiev’s priorities remain security guarantees, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The Ukrainian president also stressed that Russia should not be rewarded for its aggression on Ukraine.
As Warren Murray reported at today’s Ukraine war briefing, Zelensky said in Paris that he expected talks with donald trump To discuss next steps after Steve Witkoff returns from his talks in Russia.
Zelensky also said that after the amendment the ongoing peace plan between Ukraine, Russia and Washington “looks better” and that work would continue.
But as noted, the EU is warning that the Putin-Wiffkoff talks will again put pressure on Ukraine to make concessions. EU foreign policy chief, Kaja KailashSaid:
To establish peace, we must not lose sight of the fact that it is actually Russia that started this war and it is Russia that is continuing this war and it is Russia that is actually targeting civilians, civilian infrastructure every day to cause as much damage as possible.
You can read the entire war briefing here:
Kremlin has said Vladimir Putin Will meet steve Witkoff For their conversation on Tuesday afternoon. Now it is 9.10 am local time in Moscow.
Their meeting will take place “in the second half of the day,” a Kremlin spokesman said. Dmitry Peskov He refused to be drawn on Russia’s red lines, saying that megaphone diplomacy was not helpful.
As a reminder, according to a recording of their conversation obtained by Bloomberg, the talks also took place against the backdrop of Russia coming under fire recently after advising a Kremlin official that achieving peace in Ukraine would require Russia to gain control of Donetsk and potentially a separate territorial exchange.
With phone call on October 14th Yuri UshakovVitkoff, Putin’s top foreign policy aide, said he believed the land concessions were necessary, while he advised Ushakov to congratulate Trump and approach the discussion in a more optimistic manner.
As Joseph Gedeon And hugo lovell According to the report, the recording provided first-hand insight into Witkoff’s approach to negotiations and revealed the origins of the controversial US 28-point peace proposal unveiled in November.
His story can be seen here:
preliminary summary
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine donald trumpspecial envoy of Steve Witkoff to meet the Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow amid pressure from Washington to reach a peace deal.
Witkoff’s visit comes after leading the U.S. delegation to talks with Ukraine over the weekend in Florida, three and a half years after Russia’s full-scale invasion.
The US is excited about the prospects of reaching an agreement to end the war, according to the White House press secretary Caroline Levitt He told reporters on Monday: “I think the administration feels very optimistic.”
But Kiev’s European allies have expressed concerns that the US peace plan promotes Moscow’s maximalist demands too much. EU foreign policy chief, Kaja KailashSaid he fears Putin-Vitkoff talks on Tuesday will put pressure on Ukraine to make concessions.
Witkoff – Trump’s business partner turned roving envoy – was expected to arrive in Russia with Trump’s son-in-law, jared kushnerThe Kremlin did not say whether Kushner would also attend the meeting with Putin,
In other developments:
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Russian military commanders told Putin in comments reported on Monday that Russian forces had captured the border Ukrainian towns of Pokrovsk – a key logistics hub – and Vovchansk. and advances elsewhere, which the Russian President hailed as a success in achieving further gains. Ukrainian officials have not acknowledged that any locations have fallen into Russian hands.
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Zelensky said on Monday that Russia should not be rewarded for its aggression“We also need to make sure that Russia itself does not perceive anything as a reward for this war,” the Ukrainian told a news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron,
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Ukrainian President also talked to a dozen other leadersThat included the UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, and the German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, as they sought to garner support from European allies. “Peace must be truly durable,” Zelensky wrote on X. “The war must end as soon as possible.”
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Ukrainian negotiator Rustam Umerov said “significant progress” had been achieved. in two days of talks with Witkoff and other US officials in Florida, but agreed more work was needed on “challenging” issues.
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The Moscow talks also come as Kiev faces headwinds from a corruption scandal It has shaken up Zelensky’s inner circle and forced the dismissal of his top negotiator and chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, last week.
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Four people died in Russian missile attack And about two dozen other people were injured in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Monday, the regional governor said.
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