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Ukraine's President spoke optimistically astir the advancement of revising the Trump administration's bid plan, saying "it looks better" and the enactment volition proceed during talks connected however to extremity Russia's astir four-year war.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke aft gathering with France's President connected Monday (December 1, 2025), the latest successful discussions aimed astatine brokering the presumption for a imaginable ceasefire successful the largest equipped struggle successful Europe since World War II.
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin would conscionable with U.S. peculiar envoy Steve Witkoff connected Tuesday. Witkoff's relation came nether scrutiny past week pursuing a study that helium coached Putin's overseas affairs advisor connected however Russia's person should transportation to Trump connected the Ukraine bid plan.
Mr. Zelenskyy's sojourn to Paris followed Sunday's gathering betwixt Ukrainian and U.S. officials, which Secretary of State Marco Rubio described arsenic productive. The 2 sides person worked to revise the projected US-authored program that was developed successful negotiations betwixt Washington and Moscow but criticised arsenic being excessively weighted toward Russian demands.
The Kremlin precocious Monday boasted of Russia's battlefield gains up of the talks, claiming Moscow's troops person captured the cardinal metropolis of Pokrovsk successful the eastbound Donetsk region. According to Mr. Peskov, Mr. Putin received a study astir Pokrovsk's seizure connected Sunday.
Mr. Zelenskyy, however, said successful Paris that warring was inactive ongoing successful Pokrovsk connected Monday.
Mr. Zelenskyy called the taxable of Ukraine's power implicit its territories "the astir complicated" successful discussions implicit the plan.
French President Emmanuel Macron said talks are inactive successful a "preliminary phase" but called the flurry of diplomatic enactment "a infinitesimal that could beryllium a turning point" for the aboriginal of bid successful Ukraine and information successful Europe.
After disapproval from Ukraine and its European allies, President Donald Trump has downplayed his administration's archetypal 28-point bid framework, which would person imposed limits connected the size of Ukraine's military, blocked the state from joining NATO and required Ukraine to springiness up territory. He present calls it a "concept" to beryllium "fine-tuned".
The French person said helium wanted to praise the US bid efforts but insisted that immoderate bid program tin "only beryllium finalised with Europeans astir the table".
Last week, Mr. Macron urged Western allies to bring "rock-solid" information guarantees to Ukraine successful lawsuit a ceasefire oregon a bid woody is beryllium reached. He has endorsed deploying a "reassurance force" connected land, astatine oversea and successful the aerial to assistance guarantee the country's security.
The French president said Monday that the coming days volition spot "crucial discussions" betwixt US officials and Western partners, who would purpose to clarify U.S. information successful information guarantees.
Mr. Macron's bureau said helium and Mr. Zelenskyy held talks with different European partners including leaders from Britain, Germany, Poland, Italy, Norway, Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands. Also included were European Union officials Antonio Costa and Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
Mr. Macron and Mr. Zelenskyy besides had telephone calls with Mr. Witkoff, Mr. Macron's bureau said.
EU overseas argumentation main Kaja Kallas connected Monday expressed interest that the U.S.-Russia talks mightiness extremity up with Ukraine having to marque much concessions, similar being pressured to surrender territory.
"I'm acrophobic that each the unit volition beryllium enactment connected the victim," Ms. Kallas told reporters successful Brussels aft chairing a gathering of EU overseas and defence ministers.
The Kremlin released footage of Putin successful subject fatigues, gathering with apical subject officials connected Sunday evening astatine an unidentified subject bid post.
Russia's General Staff chief, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, reported to Putin that the Russian troops person taken afloat power of Pokrovsk successful the Donetsk portion — Russia uses the aged Soviet sanction of the city, Krasnoarmeysk — and the metropolis of Vovchansk successful the Kharkiv region.
Col. Gen. Valery Solodchuk added that Russian forces were inactive battling "the remaining tiny force groups" successful Pokrovsk.
There were nary contiguous comments from Ukrainian officials connected the claim, which could not beryllium independently verified.
Pokrovsk sits on the eastbound beforehand enactment successful portion of what has been dubbed the "fortress belt" of Donetsk. The enactment of heavy fortified cities is important to Ukraine's defence of the region, including Kramatorsk, Sloviansk and Druzhkivka.
Speaking to reporters successful Paris, Mr. Zelenskyy besides rejected Russia's earlier assertion of capturing the metropolis of Kupiansk successful the Kharkiv region. The Ukrainian person said that Kyiv's troops "cleared out" astir each of Russian forces successful Kupiansk.
In the footage, Mr. Putin insisted that the Russian troops "are expanding unit on the full beforehand line" and "along the full enactment of contact, the inaugural is wholly successful the hands of our Armed Forces".
The Kremlin connected Monday besides condemned Ukrainian strikes connected Russian lipid infrastructure implicit the weekend, including an onslaught connected an lipid terminal owned by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, oregon CPC, and different that targeted 2 tankers successful Turkish waters.
A large lipid terminal adjacent the larboard of Novorossiysk halted operations Saturday aft a onslaught by unmanned boats damaged 1 of its 3 mooring points, according to a connection from CPC, which owns the terminal. It came a time aft Ukrainian naval drones struck 2 lipid tankers successful the Black Sea that were reported to beryllium portion of Russia's "shadow fleet" that evade sanctions.
Ukraine confirmed connected Saturday it carried retired the attacks.
Mr. Peskov described some incidents arsenic "outrageous" and noted of the CPC terminal that "we're talking astir an planetary facility".
Meanwhile, Russia's Ministry of Defense said Russian forces had destroyed 32 Ukrainian drones overnight. The drones were changeable down implicit 11 Russian regions, arsenic good arsenic the Sea of Azov, the ministry said.
An flat artifact was damaged during a Ukrainian onslaught connected the metropolis of Kaspiysk successful Russia's Dagestan region, section Gov. Sergei Melikov said. Located connected the enactment of the Caspian Sea adjacent to Russia's borderline with Azerbaijan, the metropolis is much than 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) from the beforehand line.
A Russian rocket onslaught astir midday Monday killed 4 radical and wounded 40 others, 11 critically, successful the eastbound metropolis of Dnipro, according to the caput of determination medication Vladyslav Haivanenko.
The onslaught deed the metropolis center, damaging 4 residential high-rises, an acquisition installation and the retention installation of a humanitarian organisation, said Mayor Borys Filatov, adding that hunt and rescue operations were ongoing.
Ukraine's Air Force said Russia had fired 89 onslaught and decoy drones overnight Sunday earlier the onslaught connected Dnipro, of which 63 drones were changeable down oregon jammed.
Overall successful November, Russia fired 100 missiles of assorted types and 9,588 reconnaissance and onslaught drones into Ukraine, according to the Air Force's monthly study published Monday.
