Overview
- Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov said Russia is waiting for a U.S. reaction to Putin’s December 2 meeting with Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, with no Putin–Trump call or new envoy meeting planned.
- A Der Spiegel report on a confidential call says Chancellor Friedrich Merz and President Emmanuel Macron warned Ukraine that Washington could cut a deal over its head, a wording Paris later disputed and Berlin declined to discuss.
- Russia’s chief negotiator Kirill Dmitrijew publicly derided Merz on X, declaring the German leader was “not even in the game” and accusing him of “stubborn stupidity.”
- Ukrainian forces reported striking the Nevinnomyssky Azot chemical plant in Stavropol as local officials in Temryuk said port facilities were damaged by a drone attack, while Russia’s defense ministry claimed 41 Ukrainian drones were downed overnight.
- Reporting indicates Kushner and Witkoff left Moscow without concessions, while separate Ukraine–U.S. talks in Miami concluded as President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv was seeking clarity on what was discussed in the Kremlin meeting.