Ukraine-Russia warfare newest: Moscow claims largest victory in over a 12 months forward of essential Putin talks | EUROtoday

US president Donald Trump’s particular envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner will meet Russian president Vladimir Putin right this moment for talks on a potential solution to finish the warfare in Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov instructed reporters that Witkoff’s assembly with Putin could be within the second half of Tuesday, however he refused to be drawn on Russia’s pink strains, saying that megaphone diplomacy was not useful.

A White House official mentioned Witkoff could be joined by Kushner for his journey to Russia.

Putin has repeatedly mentioned he is able to speak peace however that if Ukraine refuses an settlement, then Russia’s forces will advance additional and take extra Ukrainian territory.

If Russian forces reach overpowering Ukrainian troops in the important thing metropolis of Pokrovsk, it could mark their largest territorial seize inside Ukraine in additional than a 12 months.

Pokrovsk is a highway and rail hub in Ukraine’s jap Donetsk area with a pre-war inhabitants of some 60,000 individuals. Most individuals have now fled, all kids have been evacuated and few civilians stay amid its pulverised condominium buildings and cratered roads.

The metropolis lies on a key highway which has been utilized by the Ukrainian navy to provide different embattled outposts.

Earlier final month, round 100,000 Russian troops had been circling Pokrovsk, a metropolis that Russia has been attempting to seize for over a 12 months.

Capturing Pokrovsk, dubbed “the gateway to Donetsk” by Russian media, and Kostiantynivka to its northeast which Russian forces are additionally attempting to envelop, would give Moscow its most essential single territorial achieve inside Ukraine because it took the ruined metropolis of Avdiivka in early 2024.

Russian officers have criticised Nato’s resolution to ponder “pre-emptive action” towards growing Russian hybrid warfare focusing on European nations.

Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, an Italian who serves as chair of the Nato Military Committee, said the alliance may need to adopt a more “aggressive” approach to deter Moscow from continuing its campaign of drone incursions and cyber attacks in Europe.

Such feedback, Russia’s international ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova mentioned, had been seen by Moscow as “an extremely irresponsible step, indicating the alliance’s readiness to continue moving towards escalation”.

“We see in it a deliberate attempt to undermine efforts to overcome the Ukrainian crisis,” she said.

“The people making such statements should be aware of the risks and possible consequences, including for the alliance members themselves,” the spokesperson mentioned.

Nato is considering “pre-emptive” action against Russia following a string of hybrid attacks on Europe, a senior official in the alliance has warned.

Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, an Italian who serves as chair of the Nato Military Committee, said the alliance may need to adopt a more “aggressive” approach to deter Moscow from continuing its campaign of drone incursions and cyber attacks in Europe.

A recent Financial Times investigation revealed how Nato has been put on high alert after three vessels in the Baltic Sea were accused of dragging their anchors in a bid to damage energy and communication cables, with a total of 11 incidents recorded.

Other incidents include frequent cyber attacks on European countries and incursions of Russian drones into Nato airspace.

Admiral Dragone told the FT that the alliance was “studying everything” in deciding how to respond.

French president Emmanuel Macron yesterday praised US-led efforts to end the Ukraine war, but warned that a peace plan can “only be finalised with Europeans around the table”.

Macron said the talks are still in a “preliminary part” but called the flurry of diplomatic activity “a second that could possibly be a turning level” for the future of peace in Ukraine and security in Europe.

“Today, there isn’t a finalised plan on territorial questions. These can only be finalised by President Zelensky,” Macron said at a press conference alongside his Ukrainian counterpart.

Last week, Macron urged Western allies to bring “rock-solid” security guarantees to Ukraine in case a ceasefire or a peace deal is reached.

He has endorsed deploying a “reassurance force” on land, at sea and in the air to help ensure the country’s security. The French president said Monday that the coming days will see “crucial discussions” between US officials and Western partners, who would aim to clarify US participation in security guarantees.

Macron’s office said he and Zelensky held talks with other 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.

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has spoken optimistically about the process of revising the Trump administration’s peace plan, saying “it looks better” and talks continue on how to end Russia’s war.

“Today, following the work of the teams in the United States, head of the Ukrainian delegation Rustem Umerov reported on the main parameters of the dialogue, its emphases, and some preliminary results. It is important that the talks have a constructive dynamic and that all issues were discussed openly and with a clear focus on ensuring Ukraine’s sovereignty and national interests,” he mentioned in a publish on X late on Sunday.

He thanked US president Donald Trump’s staff, and “the president personally for the time that is being invested so intensively in defining the steps to end the war”.

Deaths and accidents from landmines and unexploded ordnance hit a four-year excessive in 2024, pushed by conflicts in Syria and Myanmar in addition to European nations shifting to withdraw from the treaty banning their use, a brand new report confirmed on Monday.

Over 6,000 incidents had been recorded final 12 months, together with 1,945 deaths and 4,325 accidents – the best annual whole since 2020, in accordance with the Landmine Monitor 2025 report. Nearly 90% had been civilians, with nearly half girls and youngsters.

Ukraine introduced its withdrawal from the Convention on June 29. Military analysts mentioned that doing so may assist sluggish the Russian advances Kyiv is struggling to comprise over three years after Moscow’s full-scale invasion.

The report documented indicators of recent Ukrainian mine use. Russia and Myanmar, non-signatories, used landmines extensively, the report mentioned.

The Belarusian Foreign Ministry has lodged a protest with Lithuania over an alleged border violation by a drone, Russia’s Tass state information company reported.

A Lithuanian drone violated Belarus’ border on 30 November, TASS cited the ministry as saying on Monday.

It follows a wave of allegations Russia has been accountable for drone incursions into Nato territory in current months.

Volodymyr Zelensky has touched down in Dublin Airport for his first official go to to Ireland.

The Ukrainian president’s aircraft landed shortly earlier than 11pm tonight. He is being joined by Ukraine’s First Lady, Olena Zelenska.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin and minister of state on the Department of Foreign Affairs Thomas Byrne greeted Mr Zelensky on Dublin Airport’s runway.

Mr Zelensky will maintain bilateral talks with the taoiseach and can go to newly inaugurated Irish president Catherine Connolly in Áras an Uachtaráin on Tuesday.

He can also be anticipated to handle the Dáil and the Seanad, the 2 homes of the Irish parliament.