US envoy to meet Putin in Moscow – DW – 12/02/2025

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Ireland late Monday for his first official visit to the country.

Zelensky will meet with Ireland’s new President Catherine Connolly on Tuesday, before sitting down with Ireland’s Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Micheal Martin for bilateral talks.

The Ukrainian leader will launch the Ireland-Ukraine Economic Forum and later address the Irish Parliament at Leinster House.

Martin, who met Zelensky upon his arrival, said the visit was coming at a “crucial time” for Kyiv, and reiterated Ireland’s “firm commitment to stand with the people of Ukraine for as long as necessary”.

The visit comes after Zelensky met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris a day earlier.

Ireland has been a staunch ally of Ukraine, offering safe haven to some 120,000 Ukrainians since Russia launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022.

President Trump’s special envoy for peacekeeping missions, Steve Witkoff, will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss the Trump administration’s proposal to end the war in Ukraine.

The meeting is expected to discuss borders, security guarantees, frozen Russian assets and potential US-Russian investment projects.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed Putin would receive Vitkoff, whose role is in question after reports emerged that he advised a senior Kremlin aide on how to present a Ukraine peace plan to US President Donald Trump.

“I think the administration is very optimistic,” White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt told reporters on Monday.

The Moscow talks followed a Sunday meeting between Ukrainian and US negotiators, in which both delegations said the talks were “productive”.

Kiev and Washington are reworking the US proposal, which was initially criticized for favoring the Russian position.

Meanwhile, European leaders remained busy with diplomatic activities, with French President Emmanuel Macron meeting Zelensky on Monday.

Macron and Zelensky also spoke to Witkoff ahead of the Moscow meeting.

Welcome to our coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine on Tuesday morning, as talks to end the war in Ukraine take place in Moscow this afternoon.

The US-Russia talks came after US and Ukrainian officials discussed the plan in Florida over the weekend.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to Paris on Monday to discuss the plan with European allies.

Zelensky then said the proposal “looks better” than the initial proposal drafted by the US and was roundly criticized for supporting Russian demands to end the war.

Also on Monday, Russian forces claimed to have captured the border Ukrainian towns of Pokrovsk and Vovchansk. But there is no confirmation yet,