Ukraine’s president says the United States has proposed a format for peace talks that would place Ukraine and Russia at the same table, but he doubts such a meeting would bring real progress. Zelenskyy spoke as a Russian missile strike on port infrastructure in Odesa in southern Ukraine killed at least eight people and wounded twenty-seven, while Ukrainian drones hit several Russian targets.
By Stefan J. Bos
Officials say a Kremlin envoy is expected to travel to Florida for talks on a U.S.-proposed plan aimed at ending the nearly four-year war in Ukraine.
The move comes ahead of a possible meeting involving Ukraine, Russia, the United States — and potentially European leaders — though no date has been set.
Yet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy remains sceptical that a trilateral format would deliver concrete results, noting that past contacts with Russia produced little progress beyond humanitarian outcomes such as prisoner exchanges.
Major divisions remain over the road to peace. Among the sticking points: pressure on Ukraine to surrender occupied territory and abandon hopes of joining the NATO military alliance.
In the latest twist, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, is now calling for political changes in Kyiv. “I agree that power in Ukraine must eventually become legitimate — and that is impossible without holding elections,” he said in a televised appearance with journalists.
Zelenskyy reacts angrily
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy reacted angrily, rejecting any suggestion that Moscow should dictate Ukraine’s democratic process. “It is not Putin who decides when and in what format elections take place in Ukraine. These are exclusively Ukrainian elections,” Zelenskyy stressed.
President Zelenskyy spoke at a joint news conference in Kyiv with Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, where the two countries signed an agreement on closer cooperation — including joint production of maritime drones.
Over the weekend, Ukrainian officials said drones struck a Russian oil rig, a military patrol ship, and other facilities.
But Ukraine also suffered fresh devastation. Authorities say a Russian missile strike on port infrastructure in Odesa killed eight people and wounded at least twenty-seven others.
The escalating violence underscores just how difficult it may be for a U.S.-brokered peace deal — or even a Christmas ceasefire — to take hold.
