According to Tasnim International News Agency, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced during a press conference that the peace plan prepared to resolve the crisis in Ukraine is not “ideal” for Kyiv authorities.
He said: “On Monday, I was presented with a report on the results of the consultations in Miami. Everything necessary for the first draft has been done, this plan contains 20 paragraphs, of course, I have to admit that not everything is ideal in it, but such a document already exists.
Zelenskiy explained that the document contains clauses on security guarantees that have been developed jointly with the European Union and the United States.
In this regard, the president of Ukraine reminded that the United States may provide security guarantees to Kiev, but part of these guarantees will not be made public. Zelensky explained: “There is a general agreement on security guarantees between us, the Europeans, and the United States. In addition, there is a separate document between Ukraine and the United States that includes mutual security guarantees. The details of this agreement should be reviewed by the US Congress. In addition, this draft includes some confidential details and additions that will not be made public.
In the following, you can follow the developments related to the one thousand three hundred and ninety-ninth (1399) day of the Ukrainian war:
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The Kremlin’s reaction to Vance’s comments about progress in the Ukraine peace talks
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was not clear to him exactly what US Vice President JD Vance meant when he referred to US “progress” in talks to resolve the Ukraine conflict.
Peskov said in an interview with the First Russian TV channel last night: “To be honest, I don’t know exactly what progress means.” It is unlikely to solve such a complex issue publicly. “However, we will probably get some clarification as time goes on.”
The press secretary of the Russian president emphasized that the resolution of the conflict in Ukraine can hardly be done in public.
In response to a question about whether the Miami talks can be considered progress, he explained: “No, of course, such a conclusion is too early.” These negotiations are a work process, and we said that first, a relatively accurate and meticulous work process at the expert level is necessary and underway. The most important thing in these negotiations was to get information from the Americans about the results of their actions with the Europeans and Ukrainians, and based on that, to understand to what extent these achievements correspond to the spirit of the Anchorage summit.”
Trump assessed the process of negotiations on the resolution of the Ukraine crisis as good
U.S. President Donald Trump announced that negotiations on the resolution of the Ukraine conflict with the participation of the United States are progressing rapidly and fully. He told reporters: “Our negotiations with all parties to resolve the conflict in Ukraine are continuing and progressing well.”
Trump reiterated that the United States will no longer pay for sending military equipment to Ukraine.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a few days ago that only the United States is able to push Russia and Ukraine towards reconciliation. Of course, according to him, the final decision is not the responsibility of Washington and he emphasized that America cannot force the parties to settle, because the two countries must want to reach an agreement.
Deputy Trump: Negotiations are progressing, but questions remain
US Vice President J.D. Vance announced on Monday in an interview with “UnHerd” media that the Russian and Ukrainian sides are participating in good faith in the talks on ending the conflict, but the main obstacle remains the issue of territorial cessions.
He said: “Now all issues are openly discussed. “What we have seen from the Ukrainians and Russians in recent weeks is a real understanding of what issues are on the agenda for negotiations and what issues are not.”
Vance noted that Russia insists on its control over the Donetsk region, while Ukraine considers this situation a serious threat to its security, although, according to him, representatives of Kiev in private talks accept the possibility of losing this territory in the future.
Among the remaining issues, the US vice president mentioned control over the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, the status of Russians living in Ukraine and Ukrainians in Russia. Vance, however, expressed cautious optimism, saying there was a good chance of a peaceful resolution, but no guarantee of success.
Vance also evaluated the talks between Moscow and Washington in Miami as “progress” in the negotiations and added that some of the discussed issues are deliberately leaked to the media, because some parties try to use information pressure as one of the tools of diplomacy, and this action will not help the conflict resolution process.
Ryabkov: Russia still has serious questions from America about the settlement of Ukraine
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov announced that Moscow still has serious questions from the United States regarding the resolution of the Ukraine crisis.
He said: “In general, it is very important that the American side has accepted at the highest level that one of the main roots of the conflict was the aggressive expansion of NATO towards Russia’s borders. Of course, this does not mean that our serious questions from the American side, including in the context of Ukraine, have been resolved.”
Ryabkov pointed out that the US President Donald Trump’s administration, by reviewing the path of the previous administrations, has shown the necessary political will to create an atmosphere that would allow the start of a meaningful dialogue about the resolution of the Ukraine crisis.
However, according to him, the success of the Russian-American dialogue is not guaranteed in advance, and the normalization of relations will require time, mutual interest and Washington’s readiness to interact equally, taking into account Russia’s fundamental security interests.
Russian Senator: The European Union is stuck in an impasse
Russian Federation Council (Senate) Vice Chairman Konstantin Kasachev believes that failure to agree on a “reparation loan for Ukraine” as the United States refuses to continue financing the military conflict has caught the European Union by surprise.
The senior senator said: “In the four years that have passed since the start of the special military operation, the European Union has not been too concerned about it, because the Americans have borne the lion’s share of the costs. But with the inauguration of Donald Trump’s government in the United States, everything changed; “I think the Europeans were surprised because they had not included these costs in their strategic planning.”
According to Kasachev, the European Union was only able to approve a loan of 90 billion euros from its budget, an action that will put pressure on European citizens, and in this space, calls for dialogue with Moscow have been raised. He explained: “This situation is in a situation where the balance change on the front line of the battle has become irreversible, Ukraine is retreating and Russia is advancing. In such a situation, the European Union will have to answer to its citizens not only about the financial costs, but also about the political consequences. This is where the idea of new political contacts comes in.”
A few days ago, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that the resumption of talks with the Russian President is “in the interest of Europeans and Ukrainians”. In this regard, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said that possible contacts between the leaders should be an “attempt to understand each other’s positions”.
Creating a split between Rubio and Witkoff over Ukraine
The NBC television channel reported that Steven Witkoff, the special envoy of the President of the United States of America, refused to inform the Secretary of State Marco Rubio about his trips related to the resolution of the conflict in Ukraine, and this issue has caused a difference between the two officials.
According to this report, Witkoff traveled to Geneva in November without the knowledge of Rubio and other employees of the US State Department to consult with the Ukrainian delegation, and this caused the head of the US diplomatic service to be forced to reach out to the special envoy and eventually both of them participate in the negotiations jointly. It has also been emphasized that such maneuvers on the part of Witkoff were not the case and the disagreement between these senior American officials is due to the difference in their approaches to how to resolve the situation in Ukraine.
The Times newspaper reported that the military cemetery in the city of Lviv is full
English newspaper “The Times” reported that in the city of Lviv in western Ukraine, the capacity of the military cemetery has been exhausted.
According to this report, due to the dire situation of the armed forces of Ukraine and the increase in the number of casualties, the local authorities have been forced to consider another plot to bury the dead and it is expected that the possibility of creating up to 500 new graves will be provided in the new place.
At the same time, Ukrainian officials have indicated that even this number may soon not be enough. This problem was predicted in advance due to the increase in the number of soldiers killed in the Barusiya conflict area.
The President of Finland hopes for a serious progress in the Ukraine negotiations
In an interview with Fox News, Finnish President Alexander Stubb announced that reaching a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine is closer than at any time since the beginning of the conflict, although the most difficult stage is still ahead.
He said: “Probably, compared to any other phase of this conflict, we are closer to reaching a peace agreement. “We are almost there, but the hardest five percent still remains.”
According to the President of Finland, Donald Trump’s special envoys, Jared Kushner and Steven Witkoff, have worked continuously in recent weeks to reduce the differences between the parties. Emphasizing the complexity of the final stage of the negotiations, Stoub noted that the main focus now is on overcoming the remaining principled differences.
Orban ruled out the financing of the war in Ukraine by Hungary
Viktor Orbán, the prime minister of Hungary, emphasized that the country’s government does not intend to allocate financial resources for the continuation of the military conflict in Ukraine.
He recalled that at the meeting of the heads of the European Union on December 18 and 19 in Brussels, it was decided to grant an interest-free “military loan” to Ukraine for the years 2026-2027, which will be financed from the joint loan of European countries in the amount of 90 billion euros. Orban added that Hungary refused to participate in the decision because its contribution could have been more than one billion euros.
The Prime Minister of Hungary emphasized: “It is better to spend this money on building a modern road right here, in the great plain of Hungary, than to end up in the ruined Donbass or in the pockets of one of the Ukrainian oligarchs.”
At the same time, French President Emmanuel Macron announced after the European Union meeting on December 19 that the leaders of the member states tied the purchase of weapons by Ukraine from the 90 billion euro loan to the purchase of weapons from the member states of the Union. The participants in this meeting also agreed to grant this loan from their sources. At the same time, the idea of using frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine was reportedly not supported in Brussels.
Ukraine received the last installment of EU aid in 2025
Olaf Gill, the spokesperson of the European Commission, announced that the institution has transferred the last installment of macro-financial assistance in 2025 amounting to 2.3 billion euros from the “Ukraine Support Fund” to this country.
He said: “Today, the European Commission paid the sixth installment of 2.3 billion euros to Kyiv. “This financial aid will allow the continuation of the Ukrainian government’s operation.”
According to this official, the European Commission has made six payments to Ukraine within the framework of this fund during 2025, and the total volume of financial aid this year has reached 26.8 billion euros.
Earlier in mid-December, the Council of the European Union announced the approval of the sixth installment of financial aid to Ukraine. The decision was made after Ukraine completed the eight steps required to receive the new tranche and also completed one of the remaining steps related to the fourth distribution.
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منبع:تسنیم
