Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared that several elements within a United States proposal to conclude the ongoing war in Ukraine are unacceptable to the Kremlin, casting significant doubt on the prospects for an imminent peace deal.
Marathon Talks Yield Stalemate
Speaking to the India Today TV channel on Thursday 4 December 2025, ahead of a state visit to New Delhi, Putin characterised his five-hour meeting with US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, the previous Tuesday as "necessary" and "useful" but also "difficult work." He revealed that the initial American 28-point peace proposal had been condensed to 27 points and organised into four distinct packages.
"We had to go through practically every point, which is why it took so much time," Putin stated. "It was a meaningful, highly specific, and substantive conversation. Sometimes we said, 'Yes, we can discuss this, but with that one we cannot agree.'" The Russian leader pointed out that the US plan built upon prior discussions, including his August meeting with President Trump in Alaska, but incorporated new, contentious elements.
Divergent Demands and Ongoing Aggression
Despite praising Trump's efforts, Putin refused to specify which points Moscow rejects, arguing it would be premature and could disrupt the negotiation process. He simultaneously reiterated Russia's uncompromising military objectives, emphatically stating that Russia "will fulfill the goals it set and take all of the eastern Donetsk region."
This diplomatic impasse unfolds against a backdrop of continued violence. Overnight into Thursday, Russian forces launched widespread attacks across Ukraine:
- A missile strike on Kryvyi Rih, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's hometown, wounded six people, including a three-year-old girl, and damaged over 40 residential buildings, a school, and gas pipes.
- A six-year-old girl died in Kherson from injuries sustained in earlier shelling.
- The Kherson Thermal Power Plant, serving 40,000 residents, was forced to shut down after sustained drone and artillery attacks.
- In Odesa, drone strikes wounded six people and damaged civilian energy infrastructure.
Ukrainian officials reported that Russia fired two ballistic missiles and 138 drones at the country overnight. In the Russian-occupied part of Kherson, Moscow-installed officials claimed a Ukrainian drone strike killed two men and wounded a 68-year-old woman.
International Reactions and Scepticism
While US President Trump expressed optimism following the Kremlin talks, saying his envoys were strongly under the impression that Putin "would like to make a deal," European leaders have grown increasingly wary. Feeling sidelined by Washington's direct engagement with Moscow and Kyiv, some have accused Putin of merely feigning interest in the peace drive.
Concurrently, French President Emmanuel Macron met with China's Xi Jinping in Beijing, seeking to enlist Beijing's influence to pressure Russia towards a ceasefire. Xi, whose government has offered steadfast diplomatic support to Moscow, stopped short of endorsing France's call directly but stated that "China supports all efforts that work towards peace."
The next phase of diplomacy is set to continue, with Witkoff and Kushner expected to meet the Ukrainian delegation led by Rustem Umerov later on Thursday at the Shell Bay Club in Hallandale Beach, Florida. However, with fundamental disagreements over territory and future security guarantees remaining unresolved, the path to peace appears fraught with difficulty.
