Overview
- Zelensky said Ukrainians may privately wish Putin would perish, then urged prayers for peace and unity in a Christmas Eve address recorded in Kyiv.
- He outlined willingness to pull Ukrainian troops back if Russia also withdraws and contested eastern areas become demilitarised or free economic zones under international monitoring and a nationwide referendum.
- Ukraine and US negotiators report broad consensus on most of a 20-point framework, but the status of Donbas and management of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant remain unresolved for leaders to decide.
- Russian forces launched large holiday‑period barrages that killed civilians and knocked out power in western regions, according to Ukrainian officials, as Kyiv decried the strikes as godless.
- Moscow has touted extensive territorial gains this year that open‑source analysts at ISW dispute, while the Kremlin says it will formulate a response to the draft plan and continue contacts through established channels.