Overview
- At Mar-a-Lago on Dec. 28, President Trump said negotiations to end Russia’s invasion are in the “final stage” after calls with President Putin he described as productive.
- The leaders discussed a U.S.-mediated 20-item proposal, with unresolved issues over the status of eastern Donetsk and control and safety arrangements at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.
- Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Trump and Putin agreed to form a working group to define a concrete negotiating framework in early January, while Moscow publicly pressed Kyiv to decide quickly.
- President Zelensky indicated conditional willingness to withdraw Ukrainian forces from Donetsk if Russian units pull back from the front and noted that some steps would require a national referendum.
- Western partners reaffirmed support for Ukraine, with Canada announcing an additional CAD 2.5 billion and the U.S. and Europe discussing concrete postwar security guarantees.