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

The European Union and Canada have announced that Ottawa will join Europe’s €150 billion ($174 billion) secured defense financing instrument.

The fund has been set up as the EU seeks to boost its defense industry in response to increasing military aggression from Russia.

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A Ukrainian drone strike has caused a fire at an oil facility in Russia’s Oryol region, according to local officials.

Governor Andrey Klychkov said on Telegram that a fire broke out at an energy plant in the Livni district and that no injuries were reported.

Unverified videos of the fire circulated on social media. Outlet Astra reported that residents said an oil depot was targeted.

The city of Oryol said it would have to impose restrictions.

“It will be necessary to limit the supply of heat and hot water in buildings in Sovetsky, Zheleznodorozhny and Severny
Districts of the city of Oryol,” Oryol region governor Andrey Klychkov wrote on social media.

Russia has been waging a war on Ukraine for more than three and a half years. Ukraine has regularly launched attacks on targets inside Russia as part of its defense efforts, aimed at disrupting the country’s oil fields, cutting off supplies to the Russian military and undermining a major source of revenue for Moscow.

The northern part of the strategically important eastern city of Pokrovsk is still under the control of Ukrainian forces, a military unit fighting there told Reuters news agency on Tuesday.

The statement came after Russian President Vladimir Putin praised what his commanders described as the complete capture of Pokrovsk.

Ukraine’s 7th Rapid Response Corps of airborne troops said it had launched attacks in the south of the city, where Russian forces dominate.

Pokrovsk is an important logistics center with a population of about 60,000 before the war.

If Russia were to capture the city, it could use it as a base from which to advance on the two largest Ukrainian-controlled cities remaining in the Donetsk region: Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.

The Swedish government said on Tuesday it would donate 1.1 billion Swedish crowns ($116.41 million, €100.3 million) to Ukraine.

The fund is to assist citizens as the country prepares for winter.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has refused to guarantee a €140 billion ($162.5 billion) loan for Ukraine. financial Times Informed.

The decision undermines plans by the European Union (EU) to take out a huge loan to finance Ukraine using frozen Russian assets as backing.

The ECB said the proposal breached its mandate, blocking the EU from moving forward with the plan, the FT reported, citing sources.

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.

Also, European leaders remained busy in diplomatic activities, with French President Emmanuel Macron meeting with 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 that the proposal “looks better” than the initial proposal prepared by the US and was roundly criticized because it was seen as heavily favoring Russia.

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