Russia has renewed its criticism of efforts by Europe and Ukraine to amend US proposals to end the war in Ukraine, with Vladimir Putin’s top foreign policy aide saying the changes could prolong the conflict. Yuri Ushakov told reporters on Sunday that the proposed tweaks to Washington’s plan did not improve the prospects for peace, although he acknowledged that he had not seen the exact proposals.
Ukrainian forces have been battling an attempted Russian breakthrough in the village of Grabovske in the north-eastern Sumy region, Ukraine’s joint taskforce said, disputing reports that Russian troops had occupied the nearby village of Ryasne. Ukraine’s rights ombudsman said Russian forces forcibly moved about 50 people from Grabovske to Russia.
US intelligence believes Putin remains intent on capturing all of Ukraine and reclaiming parts of Europe that belonged to the former Soviet Union, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with US intelligence. Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s lead negotiators, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, are holding talks with Russia’s envoy Kirill Dmitriev in Miami, believing a peace deal may be close.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said diplomatic efforts were advancing “quite quickly” and that his negotiators in Florida had been working with the American side. On Sunday evening, Witkoff wrote on X that the talks had been “productive and constructive”, with particular attention given to discussing timelines and sequencing of next steps.
Zelenskyy backed a US proposal for three-way talks with Washington and Moscow if it facilitated prisoner exchanges and other conditions, though Ushakov said such a proposal had not been seriously discussed. France welcomed reports that Putin was open to talks with Emmanuel Macron, saying it would become useful to speak with Putin as a ceasefire prospect becomes clearer.
Ukrainian drones hit an oil rig and other facilities at Russia’s Filanovsky oilfield in the Caspian Sea, more than 700km from Ukraine’s nearest border, Ukraine’s military general staff said on Saturday.
