Ukraine

The Kremlin said on Monday it was too early to discuss a potential four-way peace talks format proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and restated its concerns about his electoral mandate. Zelenskiy told the Associated Press news agency in an interview published on Saturday that he favoured four-way talks between the United States, Ukraine, Russia and the European Union and said it would be "very dangerous" for Washington and Moscow to hold talks about ending the war in his country that did not involve Kyiv.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has again ruled out direct peace talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whom he called "illegitimate," prompting the Ukrainian leader to accuse Putin of being "afraid" of negotiating a settlement to the almost 3-year-old war.

Donald Trump has warned he will impose high tariffs and further sanctions on Russia if Vladimir Putin fails to end the war in Ukraine. Writing on his social media platform Truth Social, he said that by pushing to settle the war he was doing Russia and its president a "very big favour".

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that “at least 200,000” allied troops would be needed to enforce any peace deal in Ukraine as he urged Europe to “take care of itself” as Donald Trump returns to power in the US.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's mid-January press conference “on the performance of Russian diplomacy in 2024” was filled with false and misleading claims, many previously debunked, highlighting the Kremlin's broader disinformation tactics.

Shortly before the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived in Kyiv as the latest among European politicians highlighting their solidarity with Ukraine.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s designated envoy for Ukraine and Russia said Trump will take Ukraine’s interests into account when he starts working on a settlement to end the war in Ukraine and will aim to make sure the solution is equitable.

Ukraine’s Zelensky urged both the European Union and the United States for unity on Thursday ahead of Trump’s return to the White House, stressing that “European guarantees won’t be sufficient for Ukraine” and the importance to secure a durable peace. 

A new NATO command in the German city of Wiesbaden has taken up its work to coordinate Western military aid for Ukraine, the alliance's Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on Wednesday. The command takes over coordination of the aid from the United States, in a move widely seen as aiming to safeguard the support mechanism against NATO sceptic U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

NATO's secretary-general said he wants to discuss ways to put Ukraine in a position of strength for any future peace talks with Russia during a meeting Wednesday with Ukraine’s president and a small number of European leaders.