Lavrov: Russia has received Trump's plan through unofficial channels and is ready to discuss specific wording.

Europe wants to undermine efforts to resolve the conflict, Russia expects the US to pass a plan agreed with Europe and Ukraine, the EU has a colonial mentality. 1/ Lavrov: So far, we have not received from our American colleagues the version that the media is speculating about.

The West wants to rework Trump's plan in order to undermine the settlement efforts. 2/

The WSJ lays out what a real Ukraine peace must look like: sovereign Ukraine, real security guarantees, Western long-range weapons, freedom to choose alliances, and terms that stop Putin from launching the next invasion in six months. 1/ Rubio calls the U.S. proposal a “living, breathing document,” but the original 28-point plan bent toward Moscow — banning Ukraine from Western security ties and leaving it exposed.

That is not a durable peace. 2/

Zelenskyy: The American side is set on being constructive. As for now, after Geneva, there are fewer points [of peace plan]. No longer 28.

The list of steps to end the war is now workable. And many proper elements have been reflected in this framework. 1/ Zelenskyy: Sensitive issues I am discussing with President Trump.

Ukraine is not alone, and that matters. Our team has already reported today on the new draft of steps. And this is truly the right approach. 2/

Stubb: Peace mediation always needs patience.

The plan has 3 levels. Level 1 is what happens to Ukraine, land swaps, etc. Level 2 is European security — the EU and NATO. Level 3 is the transatlantic partnership.

We had talks in Geneva with Rubio, Yermak, and others. 1/ Stubb: We work on this as a team. We had 11 countries from the Coalition of the Willing meeting here in Johannesburg yesterday, including Canada and Japan, who are strongly committed to finding a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. We work on the text and negotiate together. 2/

Europe is running out of time to protect itself.

Reuters: The EU must move on Russia’s €210bn frozen assets before Trump’s peace plan forces Ukraine into territorial concessions that would expose Europe’s own borders.

1/ Belgium blocks the Commission’s plan because Euroclear holds €185bn and Brussels fears Russian lawsuits.

A workaround now on the table would shift the entire Russian account into a new SPV that assumes all legal risk.

2/

Bolton: Kremlin's ultimate goal is not simply to neutralize Ukraine's capacity for self-defense, but to push NATO back as well.

That's totally unacceptable. For the U.S. even to have contemplated some of these ideas is very disturbing. We'll have even more confusion. 1/ Bolton: I think where we stand now [in peace deal] is that the whole issue is under discussion by a broader group of countries, including Ukraine.

Donald Trump is still intensely motivated to find a deal regarding Ukraine to bolster his Nobel Peace Prize candidacy. 2/

“When I left Mariupol, I cried every morning over what I had left behind. When I went back, I cried every morning because of what I saw.”

The NYT reports how Russia is Russifying Mariupol, hiding its 2022 war crimes behind new construction and property seizures. 1/ Russia confiscates homes of Ukrainians who fled the 2022 siege and refused Russian passports. Properties are declared “abandoned” after Moscow rewrites street names and building numbers to void Ukrainian deeds. 2/

Russia can’t pay its soldiers.

Yakutia has frozen military bonuses because the region ran out of money — the first open budget collapse directly caused by mobilization, UNITED24 reports.

Yakutia’s finance minister admitted: “Unfortunately, we really have this situation.” 1/ Yakutia became one of Russia’s biggest recruiters after 2022.

To keep enlistment numbers high, the region offered $29,000 per soldier in upfront bonuses.

Now officials say they can’t even predict how many soldiers need to be paid and funding has dried up. 2/

US lawmakers said Rubio called them in Halifax to insist the leaked Ukraine peace plan “is not our recommendation” and was actually a Russian-origin proposal passed to a US representative and leaked without authorization, Politico. 1/ Rubio told senators he was unaware of any threat to cut US intelligence or weapons if Kyiv rejects the plan, contradicting days of reporting that triggered panic in European capitals and Kyiv. 2/

I told WSJ that given the leverage the US seems willing to exert, Zelenskyy would need to consider the peace proposal seriously, even though the current version would be impossible for Ukrainians to accept

The real question is whether Ukraine can get a better deal. 1/ I warned that Ukraine faces a huge budget deficit for the coming year, which Kyiv will need Western aid to fill:

We don’t have money for the spring. We have a domestic political crisis, and Europe and the US are not that willing to continue to fund us. 2/

“They decided to kill us with cold,” — says courier Adam Davidenko.

In Chernihiv, residents endure 14 hours without electricity a day, lighting their homes with head torches as Russia tries to plunge Ukraine into darkness with waves of Shahed drones, The Guardian. 1/ Valentyna Ivanivna cooks and washes dishes wearing a headlamp, saying it’s “impossible to plan anything without power.”

Lifts don’t work, water stops above the fourth floor, and daily life collapses into a cycle of outages starting before dawn. 2/

Lasar’s Group — one of Ukraine’s most lethal drone units has destroyed over $12B in Russian equipment.

Suspilne interviewed Roman “Fish,” a commander credited with 500+ armored kills from Kupiansk to Pokrovsk. 1/ Fish joined Lasar’s Group almost from day one. The unit scaled from a few pilots to dozens and became a model of 2025 warfare:

“A small autonomous strike group can replace an entire machine of a regular army.”

They combine recon, heavy bombers, FPV and engineering. 2/

Washington is pressuring Kyiv harder than ever before, threatening to cut intelligence and weapons unless Ukraine agrees with US-brokered peace deal by next Thursday.

One source said, “They want to stop the war and want Ukraine to pay the price.” — Reuters. 1/ US delivered 28-point plan that backs key Russian demands — forcing Ukraine to cede more territory, shrink its military, abandon NATO membership.

Framework mirrors concessions Washington now expects Kyiv to accept. 2/

Putin: After the Alaska talks, the U.S. paused negotiations on Trump’s peace plan because Ukraine rejected it.

That produced a new 28-point version. We have the text, but the U.S. didn’t discuss it with us.

[Ukraine obviously rejects capitulation.]

1/ Putin: Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine was discussed before the Alaska meeting. The U.S. asked us to accept certain compromises and “show flexibility.”

In Anchorage we confirmed that, despite difficulties, we agreed to those proposals and were ready to show that flexibility.

2/

Zelenskyy goes all in.

Zelenskyy: Our choice is our dignity vs risking losing [the US] support.

It is a 28-point “peace” vs an extremely hard winter.

We asked to live without freedom, dignity, and justice. We are asked to trust [Russia], which has betrayed us already twice. 1/ Zelenskyy: [The US] asks to give an answer if we agree to this.

But I already answered in 2019 when I became president and swore an oath to protect Ukraine, its sovereignty and independence, people's rights, and justice. 2/

Axios published a full 28-point Trump’s Ukraine-Russia peace plan. Trump will drive it hard and Zelenskyy might not have much choice.

Trump is aiming to get it done before the end of the year to have the cycle move off Epstein. 0/ The deal is pro-Russian but might be the only deal Ukraine can ever get given the US and Europe are unwilling to fund Ukraine

Ukraine is forced to give up territory, stay out of NATO, weaken its military, accept a vague U.S. guarantee and give Russia amnesty. 1/

Timothy Snyder in Subsyack explains how negotiations with Russia must work and why any deal built on Moscow’s demands is doomed.

His 10 principles show what real peace requires for Ukraine and global security.

1/ 1. Concessions can’t come first.

Snyder notes that some U.S. ideas already floated, so no NATO for Ukraine, no trials for Russian war criminals, no reparations give Russia major rewards upfront.

Giving Moscow anything “in advance” is counterproductive and unjust, especially when offered on behalf of Ukrainians.

2/

Ukraine is now shooting down Russian Shaheds using mixed teams of soldiers and civilians — a new nationwide air-defense layer built from 700 interceptor-drone crews trained to chase targets at 300 km/h.

Le Monde reports on this new civil–military drone hunt system.

1/ On the frontline near Kherson and Mykolaiv, 39th Brigade crews use French Mistral missiles.

Teams change position within minutes, because once they fire, Russian Lancet loitering munitions immediately hunt them down.

2/

Ukraine’s Spy Chief, Budanov: The situation around Pokrovsk is extremely hard, but we are holding.

The operation was needed because Russia had already claimed the city was taken. Our actions bought time for the main units to reach and reinforce the city.

1/ Budanov: In negotiations you cannot take and discard a key factor. You cannot ignore the real situation on the battlefield or the social state.

A negotiation on ending hostilities is always multidomain — much deeper and wider than something like oil supply talks.

2/

Whitaker: President Trump is frustrated with Vladimir Putin.

Every time they talk about a ceasefire or peace, more bombs hit Ukrainian cities. Trump is sustaining pressure with sanctions and expects European allies, including Germany, to use the same leverage.

1/ Whitaker: The resilience of the Ukrainian people and their desire to defend their country and freedoms struck me.

Their innovation with drones and other autonomous vehicles, their creativity, and their willingness to experiment in a real-time battle lab impressed me.

2/

Bad news for Ukraine.

Trump’s Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg plans to leave in January, writes Reuters.
Ukraine can lose one of the U.S. officials who consistently pushed back on Kremlin talking points.

1/ Kellogg hits the 360-day legal limit for special envoys. The law forces him out unless the Senate confirms him and no one expects that to happen.

2/