VLADIMIR Putin has lost at least 19 generals since launching Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
This staggering toll has ripped through the upper ranks of his military and laid bare the brutal cost of war at the very top.
The unprecedented losses have hollowed out Russia’s senior command, exposing a leadership crisis rarely seen in any modern conflict.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday he had appointed former Liberal cabinet minister Chrystia Freeland as an economic development adviser, citing her experience in attracting investment.
“Right now, Ukraine needs to strengthen its internal resilience — both for the sake of Ukraine’s recovery if diplomacy delivers results as swiftly as possible, and to reinforce our defense if, because of delays by our partners, it takes longer to bring this war to an end,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.
President Donald Trump has stated that he does not believe Ukraine carried out a drone strike targeting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence last week, pushing back on claims made by Moscow.
“I don’t believe that strike happened,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One while traveling from Florida to Washington.
“There is something that happened fairly nearby, but had nothing to do with this.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed on Dec. 29 that Kyiv launched 91 drones toward Putin’s residence in Novgorod, and that all drones were destroyed. Ukraine denied the allegation.
U.S. intelligence officials have concluded that Ukraine did not attack one of President Vladimir Putin’s residences earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
Russia claims that Ukraine launched a large-scale drone operation targeting Putin’s Valdai residence in the northwestern Novgorod region between Sunday night and Monday morning. Kyiv has dismissed the accusations as an attempt to disrupt U.S.-brokered talks to end the war.
An unnamed U.S. official told WSJ that the CIA assessed no attack had taken place against Putin’s residence. According to the official, Ukrainian forces had instead sought to strike a military facility elsewhere in the Novgorod region, far from Valdai.
Russia on Tuesday released video footage of what it said was the deployment of its nuclear-capable hypersonic Oreshnik missile system in close ally Belarus, a move that would expand Moscow’s ability to strike targets across Europe in the event of a war.State news agency TASS said this was the first time the Russian defence ministry had publicly shown the Oreshnik mobile missile systems. President Vladimir Putin has declared that the missiles are “impossible to intercept”, citing missile speeds reportedly more than 10 times the speed of sound.”A solemn ceremony was held in the Republic of Belarus for the unit outfitted with the Oreshnik road-mobile missile system to assume combat duty.
The U.S. has agreed to provide unspecified security guarantees to Ukraine as part of a peace deal to end Russia’s nearly four-year war, and more talks are likely this weekend, U.S. officials said Monday following the latest discussions with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Berlin.
The officials said talks with President Donald Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, led to narrowing differences on security guarantees that Kyiv said must be provided, as well as on Moscow’s demand that Ukraine concede land in the Donbas region in the country’s east.
Trump dialed into a dinner Monday evening with negotiators and European leaders, and more talks are expected this weekend in Miami or elsewhere in the United States, according to the U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly by the White House.
US, Europe vow to secure Ukraine, as Kyiv asks for $60 billion in 2026 Military Times
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US officials described the hours of talks in Berlin as positive and said Trump in his call would seek to push forward the deal.
The US officials warned Ukraine must accept the deal, which they said would provide security guarantees in line with NATO’s Article Five – which calls an attack on one ally an attack on all.
“The basis of that agreement is basically to have really, really strong guarantees – Article Five-like – also a very, very strong deterrence” in the size of Ukraine’s military, a US official said on condition of anonymity.
“Those guarantees will not be on the table forever. Those guarantees are on the table right now if there’s a conclusion that’s reached in a good way,” he said.
The EU’s top diplomat has warned it looks “increasingly difficult” to secure agreement among European leaders over a vital loan for Ukraine. Kyiv is fast running out of money and is desperately in need of an injection of cash to keep the country afloat and its army equipped with weapons.
Leaders from European states have been discussing a plan to give Kyiv a reparations loan financed by frozen Russian assets totalling €210billion. Most of that money (€185bn) is held in Belgium at Euroclear – a central securities depository in Brussels. The plan has met fierce resistance from Belgium’s prime minister Bart De Wever, who is demanding cast-iron guarantees of protection from Brussels from any Russian retaliation.
EU leaders will attend a crunch European Council summit on Thursday to discuss the reparations loan.
European defense companies fell on Monday as talks over a potential peace agreement to end the war in Ukraine took a new turn.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said over the weekend that Ukraine was prepared to abandon the country’s longstanding aim of joining the NATO military alliance in exchange for alternative security guarantees to protect it from Russia. Joining NATO is unlikely given some members’ opposition, but the announcement marks a major policy shift by Ukraine.
TRUMP: ‘WE DON’T WANT TO WASTE A LOT OF TIME’: As senior officials from Ukraine, France, Germany, and the U.K. plan to meet tomorrow in Paris to work on the U.S. proposal to end the war in Ukraine, President Donald Trump is expressing frustration with the process and suggested further discussion may just be a “waste of time.”
“The President is extremely frustrated with both sides of this war, and he is sick of meetings just for the sake of meeting. He doesn’t want any more talk. He wants action,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters yesterday. “It’s still up in the air whether we believe real peace can be accomplished and we can truly move the ball forward.”
“We’ll see whether or not we attend the meeting,” Trump said later in an Oval Office session with reporters, indicating he would only send representatives if there were “a good chance” of progress. He continued to blame Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for not embracing Trump’s plan without reservations. “I thought we were very close with Ukraine to having a deal. In fact, other than President Zelensky, people loved the concept of the deal.”
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte issued a stern warning to the organization’s allied nations on Thursday, suggesting they stand as “Russia’s next target” after Ukraine.
Rutte delivered the sobering message that NATO countries are “already in harm’s way” during a keynote address at a Berlin event hosted by the Munich Security Conference. He equated Ukraine’s security with Europe’s security and predicted that “Russia could be ready to use military force against NATO within five years.”
“The dark forces of oppression are on the march again. I am here today to tell you where NATO stands, and what we must do to stop a war before it starts. And to do that, we need to be crystal clear about the threat. We are Russia’s next target, and we are already in harm’s way,” Rutte said.
The sentiment of Rutte’s address echoed that of his very first major address as NATO chief one year ago, in which he warned member nations that they must shift to a “wartime mindset” and be willing to hike defense spending to prevent a war with Russia. In his speech on Thursday, Rutte circled back to this message to show the efforts put toward defense spending since his initial call to arms, but warned against complacency.
Leaders of the “Coalition of the Willing” supporting Ukraine will hold a follow-up videoconference on Thursday, with President Zelensky participating, the French presidency said. European countries are struggling to make up for halted US aid, as overall support for Ukraine has dropped in 2025. While France, Germany, and the UK have increased contributions, Italy and Spain have cut or stopped aid. The European Commission plans to use frozen Russian assets for a major Ukraine loan package, but the proposal faces resistance, especially from Belgium. FRANCE 24’s Dave Keating has the details.
from www.france24.com
The president spoke with reporters on the red carpet at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., where he is due to host an honors ceremony. Asked for an update on the Ukraine peace talks, which have accelerated in the last week, Trump aired out his dissatisfaction with Zelensky.
“I have to say that I’m a little bit disappointed that President Zelensky hasn’t yet read the proposal. That was as of a few hours ago,” he said. “His people love it, but he hasn’t [read it].”
Trump also said he believes Russia’s “fine” with the plan, though added they would “rather have the whole country” of Ukraine.
“But I’m not sure that Zelensky’s fine with it. His people love it, but he hasn’t read it. So, someday you’ll explain that one to me,” the president added.
Trump’s comments are surprising given that negotiations between U.S. and Ukrainian delegations in Florida last week were described positively by both sides.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed support for the peace plan proposed by the United States to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
President Donald Trump presented the 28-point draft proposal for a peace plan to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukrainian officials last week, according to the Associated Press. The plan included security guarantees for Ukraine, an agreement not to join NATO in the future, Ukraine’s eligibility for membership into the European Union, and territory concessions by Ukraine and Russia, among other details.
While speaking at a press conference during the G20 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, Meloni rejected the idea of needing a counterproposal to the U.S. deal, emphasizing the plan had “many points that were acceptable.” She suggested using the plan as a foundation for a peace agreement, rather than scrapping it and drafting a counterproposal.
BRUSSELS (AP) – European Union lawmakers voted on Tuesday to deepen integration of the bloc’s defense industry with Ukraine as a U.S. peace plan remains in flux and Russia’s unconventional warfare operations rattle the 27-nation bloc.
European Parliament legislators voted 457-148, with 33 abstentions, to approve a 1.5-billion euro ($1.7 billion) program, with 300 million euros ($345 million) slated for the Ukraine Support Instrument.
Raphaël Glucksmann, an EU lawmaker from France’s S&D party, said that the defense program “will enable us to build a more resilient and sovereign Europe” through partnering with Ukraine to build a cutting-edge military industrial complex.
“This is key to making sure we can protect our democracies effectively and autonomously,” he said.
Ukraine’s defense industry “needs us,” EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius told EU lawmakers before the vote in Strasbourg, France, without mentioning the ongoing peace negotiations to end the war. “But we need Ukraine’s defense innovations even more.”
President Donald Trump has in recent months brokered peaceful resolutions between numerous warring parties, including Israel and Hamas; Azerbaijan and Armenia; Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Cambodia and Thailand; and India and Pakistan.
The major peace he campaigned on securing between Ukraine and Russia has, however, proven elusive.
Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his government’s representative to the U.N. appeared to reject the fundamentals of the Trump administration’s 28-point plan for peace.
The plan would have: barred Ukraine from NATO, having an army exceeding 600,000 men, and acquiring nukes but provided Kyiv with a NATO-style security guarantee from the U.S.; recognized much of the occupied territory in eastern Ukraine as Russian; set the stage for an American-backed rebuilding of Ukraine; and granted full amnesty to all parties involved in the conflict.
‘Don’t believe it until you see it.’
An emerging peace deal between Ukraine and Russia could end the Ukraine War. Details of the plan initially included a 17-point plan by President Trump, but a new modified plan has received initial approval of both Russia and Ukraine, as well as EU member states.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X, “Over the past week, the United States has made tremendous progress towards a peace deal by bringing both Ukraine and Russia to the table. There are a few delicate, but not insurmountable, details that must be sorted out and will require further talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States.”
Ukraine has agreed to the “core terms” of a peace deal to end its nearly four-year war with Russia, reports say.
“Over the past week, the United States has made tremendous progress towards a peace deal by bringing both Ukraine and Russia to the table,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X. “There are a few delicate, but not insurmountable, details that must be sorted out and will require further talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States.”
Russian negotiators met with U.S. officials, including Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, in Abu Dhabi Tuesday morning to finalize the deal. Driscoll presented the peace framework that U.S. and Ukraine negotiated Sunday, Politico reported.
A bipartisan coalition of pro-Ukraine lawmakers will seek to force a House vote to impose crippling sanctions on Russia, even as President Donald Trump is moving to swiftly clinch a peace deal between the two warring nations.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) said in an X post Friday that he and his allies have “officially notified both the Clerk of the House and House leadership of our discharge petition to force a vote on crushing Russian sanctions immediately upon our return” from the Thanksgiving holiday recess.
Fitzpatrick was responding to news that Trump wants the Ukrainian government to approve the draft peace deal assembled by his envoy Steve Witkoff no later than Thursday. The plan would cede vast portions of eastern Ukraine to Russia in exchange for a security guarantee from western nations.
Surge of mystery drone incursions target Europe’s military nerve centers Washington Times
from news.google.com
The Trump administration is urging Ukraine to sign a new peace proposal by Thanksgiving or risk losing U.S. support, according to Friday reports from The Washington Post and Axios.
U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll delivered the message to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday.
He presented a version of the 28-point plan drafted by Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev.
Officials told The Post that the plan includes steep concessions from Ukraine to bring an end to the three-year war.
They include a major reduction of its armed forces and the ceding of territory that Russia has not taken by force.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed Friday that he would not “betray” his country as he publicly pushed back against a U.S. plan that would end the war on terms widely seen as favorable to Russia, even at the risk, he said, of alienating Washington.
In an address, Zelensky said he would present “arguments” and “alternatives” to the 28-point proposal drafted by the Trump administration, which stunned Kyiv and its European partners when details leaked earlier this week.
That draft plan, seen by AFP, would reportedly require Ukraine to cede territory, drastically reduce the size of its military, pledge never to join NATO and hold snap elections. Russia, meanwhile, would not only be allowed to keep the land its forces have seized but also receive sanctions relief and rejoin the G8.
MOSCOW, November 21. /TASS/. Russia will react to the United States’ peace plan for Ukraine once it sees something concrete, refusing to comment on “conflicting” reports about it that have come out in the media, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
“I think that commenting on leaks that are contradictory and contain conflicting elements is pointless. When we have some official information, when we receive it via a relevant channel, naturally, we will always be open to work,” she told reporters.
“For several days now, Western media outlets have been releasing various leaks and drafts – whatever this could be called – with different details, in different sequences, under various labels,” she said, referring to the US plan. “We have official channels of communication with Washington. The Foreign Ministry has received no information, plans or drafts.”
KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s top security official denied on Friday (Nov 21) he had agreed to the outline of a Trump administration peace plan, after US officials said he had accepted most of its terms.
Washington has presented Kyiv with a 28-point plan that would endorse many of Russia’s main demands, requiring Kyiv to give up additional territory, cut back the size of its military and forever abandon hope of joining the NATO western alliance.
US officials said the plan was drafted after consultations with Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, who served as defence minister until July and is a close ally of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Ukraine arms infantry with ammo that splits mid-flight to hit drones Euromaidan Press
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The Trump administration had partnered with Russia to develop a peace proposal to end the war in Ukraine, according to a new report.
The 28-point plan is modeled after the plan developed that brought a ceasefire to Gaza, according to Axios.
Axios reported that a top Russian official who was not named supports the plan, but the reaction of Ukraine and its European allies remains unknown.
The report said the general areas of the plan include security guarantees, the issue of security in Europe, future American-Russian relations, and an end to the fighting in Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelensky is facing a political firestorm as calls grow for him to dump his powerful chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, in a corruption scandal that now includes a golden toilet.
Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau says roughly £76 million was siphoned out of the country’s energy sector by business leaders and government officials. Yermak, Zelensky’s closest aide, is accused of choking off anti-corruption probes, though investigators have not accused him of taking a cut of the scheme himself.
Unnamed officials warned local media that Zelensky’s entire government could collapse if he refuses to remove Yermak, saying, “Our enemies smell blood.”
The allegations hit a nerve in a country where families endure constant rolling blackouts because of Russia’s attacks on energy infrastructure.
Last weekend, an explosion ripped through railway tracks near Warsaw, Poland, tearing open a NATO-linked supply route feeding Ukraine’s war effort. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the explosion an “unprecedented act of sabotage,” as early reports from the scene confirmed that military aid shipments moved along the same corridor.
Hungary will challenge the European Union’s plan to end Russian energy imports and take the case to an EU court, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Friday.
Speaking on state radio, Orbán accused the bloc of trying to sidestep his veto power over sanctions on Russian energy by instead using trade rules in its plan to phase out all imports of Russian oil and gas by the end of 2027.
“We are turning to the European Court of Justice in this matter,” Orbán said.
“This is a flagrant violation of European law, the rule of law and European cooperation … They will pay a very high price for this.”
