Ukraine-Russia struggle newest: Kremlin sinks Trump’s hope of peace deal by Thanksgiving

Volodymyr Zelensky has said a proposed peace plan now under discussion with the United States and Europe has incorporated “correct” points, but sensitive issues were to be discussed with US president Donald Trump.

“As of now, after (talks in) Geneva, there are fewer points, no longer 28, and many correct elements have been incorporated into this framework,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address.

“Our team has already reported today on the new draft of steps and this is truly the right approach. The sensitive issues, the most delicate points, I will discuss with President Trump,” he said.

Zelensky said the process of producing a final document would be difficult and Ukraine appreciated the assistance offered by other countries and the “constructive” US approach.

He said it was in Russia’s interests to disrupt the peace process and warned Ukrainians to pay particular attention to air raid alerts in the days and weeks to come “as we fully understand who we are dealing with”.

Zelensky said that if negotiations proceeded on resolving the war “there must be no missiles, no massive strikes on Ukraine and our people. This is something that those who are strong in the world can ensure.”

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has reacted positively to the changes proposed by his European allies to the contentious 28-point peace plan being pushed by Donald Trump.

Washington’s 28-point plan presented last week caused alarm by heavily aligning with Moscow’s demands in the nearly four-year war caused by its invasion.

The plan pressed Ukraine to hand over some territory to Russia and reduce its army. It also sought Europe’s agreement that Ukraine will never be admitted into the Nato military alliance.

The proposed European changes included advocating for EU membership for Kyiv, saying Ukraine’s Nato membership is up to the alliance, and forcing no territorial concessions on Ukraine.

The European allies said any ceasefire should be along the current line of contact, there should be no cap on the Ukrainian military and the cost of reconstruction in war-ravaged Ukraine should be covered by Russia.

“Now the list of necessary steps to end the war can become doable…” Zelensky said on Telegram. “Many correct elements have been incorporated into this framework,” he said.

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said there were a couple of points of disagreement remaining on the peace plan but said “we’re confident that we’ll be able to work through those”.

She said US president Donald Trump wanted a deal as quickly as possible, answering a question on whether he stands by his deadline for Ukraine on Thursday to reach a deal.

“There is a sense of urgency. The president wants to see this deal come together, and to see this war end,” she told reporters outside the White House yesterday.

Leavitt said Trump has been putting pressure on both leaders, however added that there is no meeting scheduled between the US president and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky this week.

At least four people were injured in an overnight Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, officials said.

The Operational Headquarters in southern Krasnodar Region said on Telegram that five high-rise residences and two private homes had sustained damage in different districts of the city.

Falling debris from drones had triggered fires at two sites and emergency services were bringing them under control.

Earlier, fragments from downed drones had smashed windows and damaged buildings in Krasnodar, the region’s administrative centre. Drones also damaged buildings and injured one person in a village south of Novorossiysk.

Russian air defences had earlier shot down 10 drones en route to Moscow, the defence ministry said, a day after a Ukrainian strike on a power plant cut off heating in a town near the capital.

Russian drones swarmed the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in the early hours today, striking and triggering fires in at least two residential buildings, officials said.

Officials said four people were injured. Air defence units were in action around the capital.

Tymur Tkachenko, head of the capital’s military administration, said on Telegram that a high-rise residential building had been hit in a district on the east bank of the Dnipro River.

He said four people had been treated for injuries and at least eight rescued from the building. Pictures posted on unofficial Telegram channels showed apartments on fire on upper floors.

Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said a high-rise building was being evacuated after being hit in the Pechersk district in the city centre. Pictures posted on unofficial channels showed parts of a building ablaze.

Unofficial channels reported that drone fragments had also fallen in an open area in an eastern district of the city.

Klitschko also reported disruptions to the city’s power and water supplies.

Russian air defences intercepted multiple drones targeting Moscow and surrounding regions on Monday, just a day after a Ukrainian strike on a power station left thousands without heating outside the capital.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that eight drones were shot down en route to the city, with emergency services deployed to the sites.

This followed an earlier statement from the Russian Defence Ministry, which claimed ten Ukrainian drones had been downed across three regions – Moscow, Kaluga, and Bryansk, which borders Ukraine.

The Monday attacks occurred in the wake of a Ukrainian drone strike on Sunday against the Shatura Power Station, located approximately 120 km (75 miles) east of Moscow.

This assault resulted in heating being cut off for thousands of residents in the town of some 33,000 people, where temperatures were near freezing.

European Council president Antonio Costa pledged on Monday that the European Union will keep on supporting Ukraine, as he hailed “new momentum” in peace negotiations to end the war triggered by Russia’s invasion.

“The European Union is committed to continue providing president Zelenskiy with all the support he needs – diplomatic support, military support, economic support,” he told reporters in the Angolan capital Luanda, after chairing a meeting of EU leaders on Ukraine on the sidelines of a summit with the African Union.

“This concerns in particular, financial support to Ukraine,” Costa added, recalling that EU leaders agreed last month to cover Ukraine’s financial needs for the next two years.

“We committed to deliver … and we will deliver at the December European Council,” he said.

A heating and power plant in Russia’s Moscow region has resumed operations after shutting down due to a fire caused by a Ukrainian drone strike, regional governor Andrei Vorobyov says.

The attack on the facility in Shatura, a town of about 33,000, cut heating for residents. It marked one of Kyiv’s most significant strikes to date on a power station deep inside Russia.

Russia has been pummelling Ukraine’s electricity and heat infrastructure, while Kyiv has until now mostly focused on trying to knock out Russia’s oil refineries, crude terminals and pipelines.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has outlined his expectations for Ukraine as negotiations appear to advance ahead of EU talks on a peace deal with Russia on Monday.

“We all continue working with partners, especially the United States, to look for compromises that will strengthen but not weaken us,” he said.

He added that the use of frozen Russian assets was crucial to talks and accountability was necessary.

“Right now, we are at a critical moment,” he said.

“There is a lot of noise in the media, and all the political pressure, and even greater responsibility for the decisions ahead.”