Ukraine: Germany says Russia resisting negotiated peace

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan called attacks on Russian-linked oil tankers in the Black Sea in recent days "very scary."

He said they threatened the safety of all in the region.

Most recently, a Russian-flagged tanker reported coming under drone attack in the Black Sea on Tuesday. Ukraine denied any links to this incident.

But Ukraine did take responsibility for an attack by seaborne drones on two empty tankers heading towards a Russian port last week.

NATO members Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey, which all border the Black Sea, also met on Wednesday to discuss maritime security in the region, according to news agency agencies citing Turkish foreign ministry sources.

They have a joint task force to defuse sea mines.

Meanwhile, Romania's military has blown up a maritime drone that was endangering navigation in the Black Sea, its National Defense Ministry said on Wednesday. 

The ministry said that the drone was a Sea Baby, a type of a maritime drone developed by Ukraine. 

Ukraine's SBU security service said in a statement that all of its Sea Baby drones were accounted for and none had entered Romanian territorial waters. 

US President Donald Trump gave his thoughts on the meeting between his two envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying it was "reasonably good" but that it is unclear what happens now.

"I thought they had a very good meeting yesterday with President Putin," Trump said referring to Witkoff and Kushner.

"What comes out of that meeting? I can't tell you, because it does take two to tango," he added.

On whether or not Putin was serious about ending the nearly four-year-old invasion, Trump said the Russian president "would like to end the war."

"That was their impression," Trump said. "Their impression was very strongly that he'd like to make a deal."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his video address on Wednesday that senior members of his government including the Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha had been in Brussels for talks with European allies and NATO. 

He said he expected news on talks with US officials, after Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner's talks in Moscow, in the next few days.

"We are preparing meetings in the US," he said. 

Negotiations would be led by National Security Council Secretary Rustem Umerov and Chief of Staff Andrii Hnatov, the Ukrainian president said.

Zelenskyy said the process of negotiations was progressing quite well, and that success would depend on a combination of constructive diplomacy and pressure on Russia. 

"A dignified peace is only possible if Ukraine's interests are taken into account," he said. "Right now, the world clearly feels that there is a real opportunity to end the war, and current diplomatic activity in negotiations must be backed by pressure on Russia."

For four years, trauma surgeons Oksana and Stanislav have treated Ukraine's war wounded. performing complex bone reconstructions, consultations and operations to help soldiers return to duty. With scarce resources, they rely on private foundations.

After surviving personal tragedy in Bucha, Oksana founded a charity for displaced people and troops. The couple vows to keep going as long as help is needed.

Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel has told DW that a European Commission plan to use frozen Russian assets as a loan guarantee is "the only viable option" for further financing Ukraine.

He was speaking on the margins of a NATO meeting as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was across town outlining the proposal to create a reparations loan, which would use Moscow's immobilized assets as collateral. If and when Russia pays for the damage it's caused Ukraine, the plan hypothesizes, Kyiv would repay the loan. 

By far the biggest share of Russian assets in Europe are held by Euroclear in Belgium. The Belgian government insists, among other things, that the other EU member states share the risk of Moscow being able to reclaim the money. 

Earlier Wednesday, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said the Commission's proposals fail to address his country's concerns (see entry below).

Van Weel told DW he understands the Belgian point of view.

"We understand the Belgian concerns," he said. "We need to appease them and give them peace of mind on how collectively we are going to help them in shouldering any burdens that might come forward. But we still believe that this is the most viable option and that we need to work towards that."

Talks will continue on the proposal, with a summit of EU leaders later in December seen as key to getting the plan over the line, with money potentially being sent to Ukraine as early as the second quarter of 2026.

Watch the entire interview with the Dutch foreign minister here:

The European Council said Wednesday it had reached a deal with the European Parliament to phase out all Russian gas imports by 2027.

Hungary and Slovakia have vowed to contest the law before the EU's Court of Justice. But Dan Jorgensen, the European Commissioner for Energy and Housing, told DW the decision is legally sound and said he is not worried.

"What I will say, though, is that I regret the fact that not all countries in Europe support this legislation, because I think it's important that we stand side-by-side in our defense of Ukraine and in our opposition to Russia."

He said it was "100% unacceptable" that European customers still pay Russia over €1 billion a month for gas.

"That means that we are indirectly helping to finance [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's war," he said. 

"On top of that, obviously, it's not a good thing to be dependent on anybody with regards to energy, because energy is at the core of our security, but when that country that we're dependent on is also our enemy, then of course, the situation is even more serious," he added.

The EU will prohibit Russian LNG imports from late 2026, with pipeline gas following by autumn 2027.

To compensate for the loss of Russian supplies, Jorgensen said the EU will diversify and "import more from the US, from Canada, from Romania, that will also produce more, and other sources around the planet."
 

Finnish President Alexander Stubb said in a television interview that any deal to halt the fighting in Ukraine was unlikely to meet all conditions for a just peace. 

He told Finnish television channel MTV3 that European countries were working to preserve Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. 

"But the reality is that peace can be either good, bad, or some kind of compromise," Stubb said. "The reality is that also we Finns must prepare ourselves for the moment when peace is achieved, and that all the conditions for a just peace that we have talked about so much over the past four years are unlikely to be met." 

Finland shares a 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) border with Russia, which it closed late in 2023.

It also joined NATO in the aftermath of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, after maintaining neutrality throughout the Cold War following open conflict with the former Soviet Union during World War II. 

Stubb said he was skeptical that Russia would approve the latest version of a proposal seeking a halt to the fighting, but said, "We are moving toward some kind of ceasefire and peace."  

The Finnish president also published an article in the Foreign Affairs magazine this week, ahead of the publication of his upcoming book "The Triangle of Power: Rebalancing the New World Order." 

Headlined "The West's Last Chance," it calls for Western powers to "build a new global order before it's too late." Stubb asserts that the world has "changed more in the last four years than it has in the previous 30," citing Russia's attack on Ukraine as the first example of why.

Ukraine's 2026 budget allocates more than a quarter of the country's gross domestic product to defense.

The country's parliament approved the budget on Wednesday, allocating 27.2% to the military, weapons production and purchases.

"The priorities are clear: ensuring our defense, social programs, and the ability to rebuild our lives after Russia's attacks," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko said the country would need over $45 billion (€38.6 billion) in external financing in 2026.

Kyiv is hoping some of that money would come from a reparations loan from Europe that would use frozen Russian assets.

The budget's approval was also a key step for Ukraine to secure a new lending programme with the International Monetary Fund.

Germany on Wednesday deployed its new Arrow air defense system to detect and intercept incoming ballistic missiles, including Russia's Oreshnik.

"With this strategic capability, unique among our European partners, we secure our central role at the heart of Europe," Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said.

Developed by Israel Aerospace Industries with US support, Arrow is the upper layer of Israel's missile shield, and it is the system's first deployment outside the country.

It is also said to be Israel's largest-ever military export contract.

The initial deployment is at Holzdorf Air Base, but it will be expanded to ensure the entire country is covered once it becomes fully operational by 2030.

The European Commission has presented its plan to use  frozen Russian state assets to help fund Ukraine. 

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says the proposal would create a reparations loan, drawing on cash balances from immobilized Russian assets in the EU.

"We have strong safeguards in place throughout to protect member states and reduce risks as much as possible," von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels. "For example, to ensure that an illegitimate award outside the Union cannot be enforced within. Furthermore, we have created a strong mechanism of solidarity, where the Union can intervene. We will all share the burden."

The move could unlock up to €140 billion ($162 billion), but Belgium, where most of the assets are held, remains opposed. 

"We have the frustrating feeling of not having been heard. Our concerns are being downplayed," Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said.

"The text the Commission will table today [does] not address our concerns in a satisfactory manner. It is not acceptable to use the money and leave us alone facing the risks," he added.

As an alternative, the Commission also suggested joint EU borrowing to support Ukraine. 

EU leaders will debate the proposals at a summit later this month.

Germany says Russia not 'shifting into negotiating mode' on Ukraine.

The German Foreign Office's remark comes after talks in Moscow between President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, who was joined by Jared Kushner.

They discussed a US peace proposal to end the war in Ukraine following US consultations with Kyiv. 

The Kremlin noted that Russia accepted some proposals and rejected others. 

In a tweet on X, the German Foreign Office said it welcomed the talks.

"However, we do not currently see Russia shifting into a negotiating mode," it added.

Russia said on Monday that it had taken full control of the key city of Pokrovsk after months of fighting, although Ukraine has disputed the claim. The situation in Pokrovsk could prove to have a major impact on the front line.

Here are the key facts about the situation on the ground right now:

• Ukraine refuted Russia's claim of taking Pokrovsk, saying it was propaganda to influence ongoing talks with the US and that Ukrainian forces were still present in the city
• Ukrainian soldiers said heavy fog has made it more difficult to rely on drones to defend their positions
• Should Russian troops take control of all of Pokrovsk, it would provide an easier launch pad to take Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, the last two Ukrainian-controlled cities in Donetsk
• Some 110,000 Russian soldiers who had been tied up in the assault on Pokrovsk would also be freed up for other operations
• Ukraine still controls around 10% of Donbas  — Donetsk and Luhansk provinces — an area of around 5,000 sq km (1930 sq miles), mostly in northern Donetsk
• Russia has laid claim to Donbas, calling on Ukraine to cede the territory without a fight, which Ukraine has rejected
• A Russian victory in Pokrovsk would also potentially leave Dnipropetrovsk more vulnerable to Russian advances — Moscow claims to already have a foothold there
• Russia's Defense Ministry said on Wednesday it had taken control of the village of Chervone in southeastern Zaporizhzhia

Russian President Vladimir Putin is engaged in a normal negotiation process with regard to US peace proposals for Ukraine, accepting some and rejecting others, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.

Speaking after talks in Moscow between Putin and US representatives, Peskov said it would thus be wrong to say that the Russian leader had outright rejected the proposals.

The meeting had been a first face-to-face exchange of opinions, he said, and Russia was willing to continue negotiations with the US for as many times as it took to find an agreement.

Following the talks between Putin and US President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and son-in-law Jared Kushner, a Kremlin aide had said that "compromises have not yet been found," particularly on the issue of what territories, if any, Ukraine should cede to Russia, which launched an ongoing full-scale invasion of its neighbor in 2022.

Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said on Wednesday that the European Union plans to use frozen Russian assets to support a loan for Ukraine fail to address Belgium's concerns, warning that the risks to Brussels were being "downplayed."

Prevot said the European Commission's proposals "do not address our concerns in a satisfactory manner" and insisted Belgium wanted full safeguards.

Germany's foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, said Berlin took Brussels' objections seriously and that a solution should be possible if EU allies remained united.

What are Russian frozen assets and where are they held?

After Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, nearly €300 billion ($347 billion) in Russian assets were frozen under Western sanctions.

While many countries hold these assets, including the United States, Canada, the UK and Japan, the largest chunk lies in EU member countries, and the largest share of all, about €180 billion held by Euroclear, is located in Belgium.

EU states have debated using these assets to help fund Ukraine's reconstruction, but Belgium vetoed a proposed "reparations loan" in October, warning it could face legal challenges and bear the risk if Russia seeks repayment.

That's why Belgium refused to sign up and asked for the liability to be shared by other countries.