Ukraine

After Ukraine’s new President Volodymyr Zelenskyi agreed to hold elections in the separatist regions on the Russian border, peace talks with Moscow are regaining momentum. With the assistance of France and Germany, the two countries will return to the negotiation table on 9 December.

Zelenskiy said the most important discussion point was conducting local and regional elections in territories that Kyiv doesn't currently control. … The return of all Ukrainian captives is another priority as well as regaining control over its border with Russia.

Russia will return three captured naval ships to Ukraine on Monday and is moving them to a handover location agreed with Kyiv. … In the meantime, a Kremlin aide said a summit between France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine to try to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine is possible this year but no date has been agreed.

Kyiv and Russia-backed separatists say they have completed a pullback of troops and weapons from a third frontline area in eastern Ukraine. The move is one of a series of confidence-building measures that could pave the way for a four-way summit aimed at ending the conflict in Luhansk and Donetsk regions that has killed more than 13,000 people since April 2014.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has agreed to hear claims by Ukraine related to the conflict in the east of the country, where Government forces have been fighting mostly pro-Russian separatists, for more than five years. In an application to the Court filed in January, Ukraine alleged that Russia had violated its obligations under two international treaties on terrorism financing and racial discrimination.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has welcomed the withdrawal of Ukrainian and Russia-backed separatist forces from a frontline area in eastern Ukraine, but reiterated calls for Moscow to "withdraw all their troops."

Kyiv government forces and pro-Russian troops have started withdrawing from the eastern Ukrainian town of Zolote. The move is a key precondition for German- and French-mediated talks between Ukraine and Russia.

The leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany could hold a summit in Paris in mid-November if Kyiv and pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine can maintain a ceasefire, Ukraine’s foreign minister said on Monday (14 October), warning of a “last chance” for Moscow.

Ukraine on Wednesday (9 October) refused to pull back troops in its restive east, saying for the second time this week that continued shelling by pro-Russian separatists there precluded the implementation of a disengagement agreement. Moscow, however, said the door was still open for a fresh meeting of the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France, and Germany (the so-called Normandy Four) … .

Russian troops must leave Russia-occupied east Ukraine, among other conditions, before Kiev agrees to give the self-proclaimed "republics" there greater autonomy, Ukrainian negotiators said in Minsk on Wednesday at a meeting of a Contact Group on the conflict.