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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy volition resume talks with the U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoys successful Berlin connected Monday (December 15, 2025), aft the U.S. broadside said a “lot of progress” had been made connected ending Europe’s deadliest struggle since World War Two.
Mr. Zelenskyy volition again conscionable U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Mr. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner aft 5 hours of talks connected Sunday (December 14, 2025), with different European leaders besides holding meetings successful Berlin passim the day.
Ukraine said connected Sunday (December 14, 2025) it was consenting to driblet its ambition to articulation the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) confederation successful speech for Western information guarantees. But it was not instantly wide however acold talks had progressed connected that oregon different captious issues specified arsenic the aboriginal of Ukrainian territory, and however overmuch the talks successful Berlin could transportation Russia to hold to a ceasefire.
European diplomacy faces important week
The talks travel astatine the commencement of a pivotal week for Europe, with an European Union (EU) acme connected Thursday (December 11, 2025) acceptable to determine whether it tin underwrite a monolithic indebtedness to Ukraine with frozen Russian Central Bank assets.
Europe has travel nether occurrence from the Trump medication successful caller weeks implicit its policies connected migration, information and regulating large tech. The EU and nationalist governments person struggled to find a unified effect to the U.S. criticism.
EU Foreign Ministers are gathering successful Brussels connected Monday (December 15, 2025) to hold connected caller sanctions against Russia, though the anticipation of an 11th-hour hitch to agreeing an EU commercialized woody with Latin America threatens to further undermine their attempts to enactment connected a amusement of strength.
“We volition proceed to bash everything we tin to guarantee that Ukraine tin execute the champion imaginable negotiating presumption and, successful the lawsuit of failure, that it has each the indispensable means to retaliate against this warfare of aggression,” German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told Deutschlandfunk radio.
I had a bully gathering with the President of Finland, @alexstubb. There is simply a large woody of enactment underway connected the diplomatic way close now, and we discussed its results. We besides coordinated our associated positions up of today's meetings with partners successful Berlin and agreed connected the next… pic.twitter.com/QxuyQURdjX
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 15, 2025Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who has been intimately progressive successful the Ukraine talks and was gathering Mr. Zelenskyy connected Monday (December 15, 2025) greeting up of the U.S. negotiations, sounded a tentatively hopeful note.
“I deliberation we are astatine a captious infinitesimal successful negotiations for peace,” Mr. Stubb told Dutch TV programme Buitenhof broadcast connected Sunday (December 14, 2025).
“And astatine the aforesaid time, we’re astir apt person to a bid statement than we person been astatine immoderate clip during these 4 years,” said Mr. Stubb, who besides met Mr. Kushner successful Berlin connected Sunday (December 14, 2025) evening.
Security guarantees among issues successful focus
Mr. Stubb said the sides were moving connected 3 main documents — the model of a 20-point bid plan, 1 relating to information guarantees for Ukraine, and a 3rd connected reconstruction of the country. “So we’re looking astatine the details unneurotic with the Americans, Europeans, and the Ukrainians,” helium added.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and the leaders of Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden were among those expected successful the German superior connected Monday (December 15, 2025).
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly demanded that Ukraine officially renounce its NATO ambitions and retreat troops from the astir 10% of the eastbound Donbas portion which Kyiv inactive controls. Moscow has besides said that Ukraine indispensable beryllium a neutral state and that nary NATO troops tin beryllium stationed there.
Russian sources earlier this twelvemonth said Mr. Putin wants a “written” pledge by large Western powers not to enlarge the U.S.-led NATO confederation eastwards — shorthand for formally ruling retired rank to Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova and different erstwhile Soviet republics.
EU overseas argumentation main Kaja Kallas said connected Monday (December 15, 2025) that taking implicit Ukraine’s Donbas portion volition “not beryllium Putin’s endgame”.
“We person to recognize that if helium gets Donbas, past the fortress is down and past they decidedly determination connected to taking the full of Ukraine,” Ms. Kallas, a erstwhile Estonian Prime Minister, told reporters. “If Ukraine goes, past different regions are besides successful danger.”
