Ukraine-Russia battle newest: Zelensky says he’ll meet Trump on Sunday and peace plan is ‘90 per cent ready’
Volodymyr Zelensky has confirmed that he will meet with US President Donald Trump on Sunday in the latest push to secure a peace deal before the New Year.
The Ukrainian president said he would travel to Mar-A-Lago to meet with Trump and that his peace agreement was “90 per cent ready”.
Axios earlier reported that the Ukrainian president will meet with Trump at Mar-A-Lago, his personal residence, to discuss a peace agreement.
Earlier, he had hinted at progress on a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, following a “really good conversation” with Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff on Christmas Day.
Ukraine said it used British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles to strike a major Russian oil refinery on Thursday, reporting explosions at a site supplying fuel to Moscow’s forces.
The Ukrainian military said it targeted the Novoshakhtinsk refinery in Russia’s Rostov region, adding: “Multiple explosions were recorded. The target was hit.”
Officials said the plant was one of southern Russia’s main producers of petrol products and was “directly involved in supplying the Russian Federation’s armed forces”.
Ukraine used British missiles to strike Russian oil refinery
Ukraine has announced that it used British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles to strike the Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery in Russia’s Rostov region.
Officials said that the targeted refinery was a major producer of petrol products and directly supplied the Russian Federation’s armed forces.
Separately, Ukrainian long-range drones hit oil product storage tanks in Temryuk, Krasnodar region, and a gas processing plant in Orenburg.
Russian officials confirmed that two tanks caught fire in Temryuk, with the blaze covering an area of approximately 2,000 square metres.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hinted at progress on a peace deal following discussions with Steve Witkoff, an envoy for US President Donald Trump.
Watch: ‘May he perish’ says Zelensky in Christmas address
Appearing to refer to Russian president Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky said: “Today, we all share one dream.And we make one wish – for all of us. ‘May he perish’, 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.”
Ukraine’s president Zelensky appears to wish death to Putin in Christmas message
Putin’s aide spoke to US officials by phone, Kremlin says
Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed his foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, to speak to US members of the administration after Moscow received US. proposals about a possible Ukrainian peace deal, the Kremlin said.
It was agreed with the US to continue talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Putin envoy Kirill Dmitriev brought paper copies of US peace proposals back to Moscow after a meeting in Miami at the weekend – and the details were being analysed by the Kremlin, Peskov said.
“The information was analysed, and on behalf of President Putin, contact took place between representatives of the administrations of Russia and the United States,” Peskov said. “It was agreed to continue the dialogue.”
Watch: Zelensky shared an update on his discussions with US envoys
In a post shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Christmas yesterday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he spoke to US President Trump’s envoys.
“We have some new ideas in terms of formats, meetings and of course, timing on how to bring a real peace closer.”
One killed and three injured by Russian aerial bomb attack
One person was killed and three others wounded when a guided aerial bomb struck a house in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, local officials said.
Russian drone attacks on the city of Mykolaiv and its suburbs overnight into Friday left part of the city without power. Energy and port infrastructure were also damaged by drones in the city of Odesa on the Black Sea.
Meanwhile, Ukraine said it hit a major Russian oil refinery Thursday using British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles.
Ukraine’s General Staff reported its forces struck the Novoshakhtinsk refinery in Russia’s Rostov region. “Multiple explosions were recorded. The target was hit,” it wrote on Telegram.
A firefighter was wounded when extinguishing the fire, according to Yuri Slyusar of the Rostov regional government in Russia.
Ukraine’s long-range drone strikes on Russian refineries aim to deprive Moscow of the oil export revenue it needs to pursue its full-scale invasion.
Kyiv officials accused of Russia of trying to “weaponise winter” by attempting to cripple the Ukrainian power grid, seeking to deny civilians access to heat, light and running water.
Deputy Russian PM delays arms export to prioritise its armed forces, Ifax reports
Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov said that Russia was “somewhat” delaying exports of weapons and military equipment to prioritise deliveries to its own armed forces, Interfax reported him saying on Friday.
What is Zelensky hoping to discuss with Trump?
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that sensitive issues, including any territorial compromises should be discussed by the heads of state, as Kyiv has been seeking a face-to-face meeting with Trump.
This signals progress in talks to end the nearly four-year war between Russia and Ukraine.
Zelensky said on Tuesday that he would consider withdrawing troops from the country’s eastern industrial heartland, as part of a peace plan, if Moscow promised to also pull back and demilitarise the region zone so that it is monitored by international forces.
Russia has given no indication that it will agree to any kind of withdrawal from land it has seized.
Although, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that there had been “slow but steady progress” in the peace talks.
Trump to meet Zelensky in Mar-A-Lago on Sunday – report
President Donald Trump will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday, according to a report.
Axios reported that the pair would meet at Mar-A-Lago in Florida in a fresh push to secure a peace agreement before the New Year.
Russian forces shot down seven Storm Shadow missiles during past week
During the past week, the Russian defence ministry said they shot down seven Storm Shadow missiles, according to Russian news agencies.
Russian troops gained control of the settlement of of Kosivstseve in the Zaporizhzhia region in eastern Ukraine.
Putin critic sentenced to six years in prison by Russian court
A Russian court sentenced a pro-war activist and critic of President Vladimir Putin of justifying terrorism to six years in prison on Thursday.
Sergei Udaltsov, the leader of the Left Front movement that opposes Putin, who is also affiliated with the Communist Party, was arrested last year.
According to Russian independent news site Mediazona, the charges against him stem from an article Udaltsov posted online in support of another group of Russian activists accused of forming a terrorist organisation.
Those activists were handed sentences ranging from 16 to 22 years in prison after being convicted earlier this month.
Udaltsov has rejected the charges against him as fabricated. On Thursday, he denounced the verdict as “shameful” and said he was going on a hunger strike, Mediazona reported.
Source: independent.co.uk
