Late in a year already heavy with a war now nearly four years old, a phone call between two leaders has left the search for peace suspended in uncertainty. Russia says it will revisit agreements it had seemed close to accepting, and it justifies this by pointing to an alleged drone attack that Ukraine calls a fabrication, a familiar pattern in which the language of grievance arrives just as the language of settlement grows hopeful. Diplomacy continues in the rooms where documents are rewritten, yet the ground beneath those rooms still trembles with missiles, and what the coming weeks will reve
Putin Signals Tougher Ukraine Terms in Trump Call as Peace Talks Stall Over Territory
Russia continues drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure, targeting civilians during winter.
Putin said he would revise Moscow's position; Kyiv called the pretext a lie.
Mark
Zelenskyy says the plan is 90% agreed. Putin says he'll revise his position. How do those fit together?
Mimi
They may not. The 90% is Zelenskyy's figure, and the remaining part holds the hardest issues: Donbas, the size of Ukraine's army, security guarantees, sanctions and frozen assets.
Luke
And the 90% is one side's estimate. Nobody on the Russian side has endorsed it, and Moscow says the 20-point draft contains things it won't accept.
Mark
What do we actually know about the drone attack?
Mimi
Lavrov said 91 drones targeted a residence in Novgorod region and that Russia would retaliate. Ukraine calls it a fabricated pretext, and Zelenskyy fears it's cover for striking Kyiv government buildings.
Luke
Right, so it's a claim and a denial. The reporting offers no independent confirmation either way. Same with the call itself: the content comes from Ushakov, the Kremlin aide, not from a joint readout.
Mark
Leavitt called it a positive call. Does that settle anything?
Mimi
Not much. It's a characterization, and the source says it's unclear whether Trump is closer to ending the war.
Luke
Worth noting Trump's own timeline is loose too: a few weeks, no set deadline.
Mark
What about the security guarantee dispute?
Mimi
Zelenskyy wants 30 to 50 years. The current proposals say 15, with a possible extension. That gap is a concrete one.
Luke
And what Russia would accept on that is still unknown from this reporting.
Mark
What should a reader watch?
Mimi
The January meetings: the Coalition of the Willing, Ukraine with Europeans and Trump, and any contact with Russian officials.
Il Polso
- Moscow says it will revise its negotiating position just as Washington calls the call 'positive', leaving the peace process in an unsettled holding pattern.
- Russia's claim of a foiled drone strike on a presidential residence has been rejected by Kyiv as a pretext, raising fears of retaliation against Kyiv's government buildings.
- Negotiators are reshaping a 20-point document, with Donbas territory and the length of security guarantees still blocking any final deal.
- Drone and missile strikes on Ukrainian cities and winter energy infrastructure continue unabated while the talks proceed.
- January meetings with European partners, Trump and Russian officials are set to test whether the diplomacy can hold.
Late in a year already heavy with a war now nearly four years old, a phone call between two leaders has left the search for peace suspended in uncertainty. Russia says it will revisit agreements it had seemed close to accepting, and it justifies this by pointing to an alleged drone attack that Ukraine calls a fabrication, a familiar pattern in which the language of grievance arrives just as the language of settlement grows hopeful. Diplomacy continues in the rooms where documents are rewritten, yet the ground beneath those rooms still trembles with missiles, and what the coming weeks will reveal is whether talk can outlast the winter.
On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed Ukraine had tried to strike a presidential residence in the Novgorod region with 91 drones, and said Russia would retaliate. Hours later, Vladimir Putin repeated the claim to Donald Trump in a phone call, telling him Moscow would revise its negotiating position and reconsider some earlier agreements. The Kremlin insisted Russia still wanted to work with the United States toward peace, and the White House called the call positive, though it remained unclear whether Trump was any closer to ending the war.
Kyiv rejected the allegation outright. Zelenskyy called it a new lie and warned that Moscow might use it to justify an attack on government buildings in Kyiv. Only days earlier, Trump had met Zelenskyy in Florida and spoke of a deal getting closer, perhaps within weeks. Zelenskyy said the plan was 90 percent agreed, but the hardest pieces remain. The 28-point American draft had been reworked into a 20-point version, yet Moscow still objects to elements, including the size of Ukraine's post-war army.
The central knot is Donbas, partly occupied by Russian forces, which Moscow still claims in full. Russia also wants assurances against further NATO expansion, clarity on sanctions and frozen state assets, and terms on Ukraine's neutrality. Zelenskyy has asked for American security guarantees lasting fifty years, while current proposals offer fifteen with an option to extend.
Meanwhile, the fighting goes on. Russian drones and missiles continue to strike cities and energy infrastructure in winter, and Putin has ordered his forces to keep seizing ground. What comes next is a series of January meetings with European leaders, Trump and Russian officials, where Donbas and the length of guarantees will decide whether the talks move forward.
On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Ukraine had tried to strike a presidential residence in the Novgorod region, more than 400 kilometers (249 miles) northwest of Moscow, using 91 drones. He added that Russia would retaliate and that targets had already been chosen. Hours later, Vladimir Putin raised the same claim in a phone call with Donald Trump, and the Kremlin said he told the American president that Moscow would revise its negotiating position on Ukraine.
The account of the call comes from Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, who spoke to Russian newswires. According to him, Putin said Moscow intends to work closely with the United States on peace efforts but will reconsider a number of agreements previously reached. Ushakov also said Putin assured Trump that Russia will keep working with its U.S. partners toward peace, and that the two leaders agreed to keep talking. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X that the call was "positive." Whether Trump is any closer to ending the war remains unclear.
Ukraine rejected the drone allegation outright. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called it a Russian attempt to damage the peace talks. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed it as a "new lie" and warned that Moscow could be using it as a pretext to prepare an attack on government buildings in Kyiv.
The call was the second between Trump and Putin in two days. The first, described as "very productive," came shortly before Trump met Zelenskyy in Florida on Sunday. That meeting produced no clear breakthrough, but Trump spoke of "a lot of progress" and said a deal was "getting a lot closer," though it might take a few weeks and there is no set timeline. Zelenskyy said the peace plan was "90% agreed." The two presidents then spoke with European leaders. Trump has pledged to end the war that began with Russia's 2022 invasion, a promise he made for his first day back in office.
The document at the center of the talks has already been reworked. Ukrainian officials spent recent weeks revising a 28-point draft originally proposed by the U.S., which was seen as overly favorable to Russia. The current version has 20 points. Moscow has warned that it contains elements it will not accept, including the size of Ukraine's post-war military.
The biggest unresolved question is the Donbas region, which Russian forces partly occupy. Russia has held to maximalist territorial demands, including land it does not fully control. According to a person close to the Kremlin, Moscow also wants guarantees against further eastward NATO expansion, guarantees on Ukraine's neutral status if it joins the European Union, and clarity on sanctions removal and on hundreds of billions of dollars in frozen Russian state assets in the West.
Zelenskyy, for his part, said he asked Trump for U.S. security guarantees lasting as long as half a century. Proposals now under discussion set a 15-year term with the possibility of extension. "I would like the guarantee to be much longer," he said Monday in an audio message to reporters, floating 30, 40 or 50 years, which he said would make it a historic decision by Trump.
The fighting has not paused while diplomacy continues. Russia keeps striking Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure with drones and missiles, pressing its campaign and maximizing hardship for civilians in winter. On Monday Putin held his seventh televised meeting with the army command since October, spoke of battlefield advances, and ordered his forces to keep working to seize more territory.
What comes next is a run of January meetings. Ukraine wants to meet European partners and Trump, followed by a session with Russian officials "in one format or another." French President Emmanuel Macron said on X that the Coalition of the Willing will meet in early January to discuss support for Ukraine. Donbas and the length of security guarantees are the issues to watch.
Citazioni salienti
I would like the guarantee to be much longer.— Volodymyr Zelenskyy, audio message to reporters
Putin said Moscow will work closely with the U.S. on peace but will reconsider a number of previously reached agreements.— Yuri Ushakov, Kremlin aide, via Russian newswires
Vuoi la storia completa?
Leggi l'originale su Hartford Courant ↗
Politics & Governance