Ukraine-Russia conflict newest: Moscow claims greatest victory in over a 12 months forward of essential Putin talks

US president Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner will meet Russian president Vladimir Putin today for talks on a possible way to end the war in Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Witkoff’s meeting with Putin would be in the second half of Tuesday, but he refused to be drawn on Russia’s red lines, saying that megaphone diplomacy was not helpful.

A White House official said Witkoff would be joined by Kushner for his trip to Russia.

Putin has repeatedly said he is ready to talk peace but that if Ukraine refuses an agreement, then Russia’s forces will advance further and take more Ukrainian territory.

If Russian forces succeed in overpowering Ukrainian troops in the key city of Pokrovsk, it would mark their biggest territorial capture inside Ukraine in more than a year.

Pokrovsk is a road and rail hub in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region with a pre-war population of some 60,000 people. Most people have now fled, all children have been evacuated and few civilians remain amid its pulverised apartment buildings and cratered roads.

The city lies on a key road which has been used by the Ukrainian military to supply other embattled outposts.

Earlier last month, around 100,000 Russian troops were circling Pokrovsk, a city that Russia has been trying to capture for over a year.

Capturing Pokrovsk, dubbed “the gateway to Donetsk” by Russian media, and Kostiantynivka to its northeast which Russian forces are also trying to envelop, would give Moscow its most important single territorial gain inside Ukraine since it took the ruined city of Avdiivka in early 2024.

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Russian officials have criticised Nato’s decision to contemplate “pre-emptive action” against increasing Russian hybrid warfare targeting 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 comments, Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said, were 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 said.

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 phase” but called the flurry of diplomatic activity “a moment that could be a turning point” 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 said in a post on X late on Sunday.

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

Deaths and injuries from landmines and unexploded ordnance hit a four-year high in 2024, driven by conflicts in Syria and Myanmar as well as European countries moving to withdraw from the treaty banning their use, a new report showed on Monday.

Over 6,000 incidents were recorded last year, including 1,945 deaths and 4,325 injuries – the highest annual total since 2020, according to the Landmine Monitor 2025 report. Nearly 90% were civilians, with almost half women and children.

Ukraine announced its withdrawal from the Convention on June 29. Military analysts said that doing so could help slow the Russian advances Kyiv is struggling to contain over three years after Moscow’s full-scale invasion.

The report documented signs of new Ukrainian mine use. Russia and Myanmar, non-signatories, used landmines extensively, the report said.

The Belarusian Foreign Ministry has lodged a protest with Lithuania over an alleged border violation by a drone, Russia’s Tass state news agency 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 responsible for drone incursions into Nato territory in recent months.

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

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

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

Mr Zelensky will hold bilateral talks with the taoiseach and will visit newly inaugurated Irish president Catherine Connolly in Áras an Uachtaráin on Tuesday.

He is also expected to address the Dáil and the Seanad, the two houses of the Irish parliament.