Putin has long wanted to weaken his isolation and conduct ordinary negotiations.
On the 997th day of Russia's war in Ukraine, the prospect of peace flickered with new ambiguity as Donald Trump's return to power reshaped the diplomatic horizon. Zelenskyy expressed cautious hope that Trump's presidency would hasten the conflict's end, even as Germany's Olaf Scholz broke a two-year silence with Putin — a gesture meant to press for negotiations but one that Kyiv feared would restore the Russian leader's standing rather than diminish it. The war, it seems, is entering a phase where the battlefield and the negotiating table are equally treacherous terrain, and where every diplomatic overture carries the weight of unintended consequence.
- Zelenskyy publicly welcomed Trump's return, describing their phone call as constructive and expressing confidence the war could end sooner — but the optimism is fragile, resting on a president-elect whose intentions remain opaque.
- Scholz's call with Putin — the first in nearly two years — was intended as pressure for withdrawal and talks, yet Kyiv saw it as cracking the isolation wall that had been painstakingly built around Moscow.
- Putin used the Scholz conversation to reassert his terms: any settlement must honor Russian 'security interests' and accept the 'new territorial realities' — diplomatic language for the lands Russia has seized by force.
- Zelenskyy struck back sharply, warning that Scholz had opened a 'Pandora's box' that could normalize Putin's international standing and invite a cascade of similar outreach from other leaders.
- Russia suspended natural gas deliveries to Austria via Ukraine, a calculated energy strike as the Kyiv-Gazprom transit agreement nears its year-end expiration — a reminder that the war's weapons include pipelines as much as missiles.
On the 997th day of Russia's invasion, Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered measured optimism: the war would end sooner once Donald Trump took office. A recent phone call with the president-elect had been constructive, he said, and had not contradicted Kyiv's core positions. Trump, speaking from Mar-a-Lago, was characteristically blunt — "It's got to stop" — but offered little beyond intent.
The diplomatic ground, however, was already shifting. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had just spoken with Putin for the first time in nearly two years, urging Russian withdrawal and direct negotiations with Kyiv. Scholz also relayed that Trump held a more nuanced private position on Ukraine than widely feared, and had given no indication he would broker a deal without consulting Zelenskyy. Germany, Scholz added, would not accept peace imposed by diktat.
But the call itself became the crisis. The Kremlin's readout made clear Putin viewed any settlement through the lens of Russian security interests and the territorial gains Moscow refuses to relinquish. Zelenskyy responded with alarm, accusing Scholz of opening a "Pandora's box" — breaking the diplomatic isolation that had been carefully constructed around Putin and potentially inviting a flood of similar outreach from other leaders. Reuters confirmed that Zelenskyy and other European officials had urged Scholz not to make the call.
The war ground on regardless. Russian air defenses reported shooting down Ukrainian drones across Kursk, Bryansk, Lipetsk, and Oryol, while explosions rattled apartment buildings in the border region of Belgorod. And in a move that extended the conflict's reach into European homes, Russia announced it would suspend natural gas deliveries to Austria via Ukraine — the opening act of a larger energy confrontation as the Kyiv-Gazprom transit agreement expires at year's end. Ukraine's foreign minister called it plainly: Russia was weaponizing energy, turning the supply of gas into another instrument of a war that has already cost hundreds of thousands of lives.
On day 997 of Russia's invasion, Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered a carefully measured optimism: the war, he said, would "end sooner" once Donald Trump took office in January. Speaking to the Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne on Friday, the Ukrainian president described his recent phone call with the president-elect as a "constructive exchange" that had not contradicted Kyiv's core positions. Trump himself, speaking from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida that same day, offered a blunt assessment: "We're going to work very hard on Russia and Ukraine. It's got to stop."
Yet even as Zelenskyy signaled confidence in Trump's approach, the diplomatic landscape was shifting in ways that troubled him. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had just completed a phone call with Putin—the first conversation between the two leaders in nearly two years. Scholz told the Süddeutsche Zeitung that Trump, contrary to widespread fears he might abandon Ukraine, had expressed "a more nuanced position than is often assumed" on the conflict. When asked whether Trump might broker a deal without consulting Kyiv, Scholz said the president-elect had given "no indication" of such intent. Germany itself, Scholz stressed, would not accept what he called a "peace by diktat."
But Scholz's outreach to Putin itself became the story. In that Friday phone call, the German chancellor urged the Russian leader to withdraw forces from Ukraine and begin direct negotiations with Kyiv—a move that, on paper, aligned with Western strategy. The Kremlin's readout, however, made clear that Putin saw the conversation differently: any settlement, he told Scholz, must account for Russian security interests and acknowledge what Moscow calls the "new territorial realities"—a euphemism for the territory Russia has seized and claims to control.
Zelenskyy's response was swift and sharp. In his evening address, he accused Scholz of opening a "Pandora's box" by breaking the diplomatic isolation that had been carefully maintained around Putin. "Now there may be other conversations, other calls," Zelenskyy said. "Just a lot of words." He understood what was happening: Putin had long wanted to normalize his standing on the world stage, to move from pariah to negotiating partner. A call from the German chancellor, no matter how framed, was a step in that direction. Reuters reported that Zelenskyy and other European officials had warned Scholz against making the call in the first place.
Meanwhile, the grinding reality of the war continued. Russian air defences claimed to have shot down Ukrainian drones across multiple regions on Friday—fifteen in Kursk alone, where Ukrainian forces had launched a major incursion four months earlier, plus additional interceptions in Bryansk, Lipetsk, and Oryol. In Belgorod, a region that sits on the border and has endured repeated Ukrainian strikes, explosions shattered windows in apartment buildings, though officials reported no deaths.
And in a move that underscored how the conflict extends far beyond the battlefield, Russia announced it would suspend natural gas deliveries to Austria via Ukraine beginning Saturday. This was the opening move in a larger energy standoff: the transit agreement between Ukraine and Gazprom is set to expire at year's end, and Kyiv has made clear it will not renew it. The decision costs Russia billions in transit fees that Kyiv argues help finance Moscow's war machine. Austria's chancellor, Karl Nehammer, said the country had prepared for the disruption, but Ukraine's foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, saw it plainly: Russia was weaponizing energy, using the supply of gas as leverage in a conflict that had already claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.
Citas Notables
The war will end sooner with the policies of the team that will now lead the White House.— Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian president
We're going to work very hard on Russia and Ukraine. It's got to stop.— Donald Trump, US president-elect
This is exactly what Putin has long wanted: it is extremely important for him to weaken his isolation and to conduct ordinary negotiations.— Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Scholz's call to Putin
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does Zelenskyy sound optimistic about Trump when so many people worry Trump might abandon Ukraine?
Because Zelenskyy has actually spoken to Trump, and Trump didn't say the things Zelenskyy feared. That matters more than the headlines. Trump said the war "has got to stop"—which could mean many things, but at least it's not a threat to cut off aid.
But what about Scholz calling Putin? Doesn't that undermine Zelenskyy's position?
Exactly. Scholz thinks he's being diplomatic and reasonable. But from Kyiv's perspective, he's just handed Putin what Putin has wanted for months: a seat back at the table, a sign that the world is ready to talk to him again. That's worth more to Putin than any single negotiation.
Is Scholz actually betraying Ukraine?
Not intentionally. He's trying to encourage Putin to negotiate. But Zelenskyy understands something Scholz may not: the moment you start talking to Putin again, you've already given him a victory. Isolation was the only leverage Ukraine had.
What does the gas suspension tell us?
That Russia is still thinking long-term. Even as the war grinds on, Russia is preparing for a world where it might need to negotiate. Cutting off Austria's gas is a message: we can still hurt Europe. Don't forget that when you're deciding whether to support Ukraine.
So we're at a pivot point?
We're at the moment where everyone is repositioning. Trump is coming in. Scholz is reaching out to Putin. Ukraine is trying to hold the line. Nobody knows what happens next.