Ukraine: Zelenskyy cautiously optimistic about peace talks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it is possible that Russia carries out "massive strikes on Christmas."

"And today we had a Staff meeting on this, and the number one issue was air defense: the protection of our cities, villages and communities, especially on the 23rd, 24th and 25th," Zelenskyy posted on X. 

The Ukrainian leader said the military must "ensure protection as much as they can" but he added there is an unfortunate "shortage of air defense systems."

In regards to air defense systems, Zelenskyy said "we are working on a strong contract with the Americans for dozens — several dozen — Patriot systems, to be procured through various programs."

Zelenskyy has previously expressed desire to buy Patriot systems from the US, but has said they are expensive and can take a long time to manufacture. In the meantime, Ukraine has leaned on European allies such as the UK and Germany for air defense systems.   

US President Donald Trump was asked by reporters about the status of the talks on resolving the war in Ukraine.

"The talks on Ukraine, Russia are going along," Trump told journalists at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida. "We are talking. Talks are going ok." 

Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian and Ukrainian representatives in separate talks in Miami over the weekend. Witkoff met with top Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov and Russian President Vladimir Putin's special envoy Kirill Dmitriev.  

Witkoff had characterized the talks with both the Ukrainian and Russian sides as "productive and constructive." However, no breakthrough was reached. 

Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February, 2022.

Trump, who began his second term in the White House in January, had repeatedly pledged to end the war within 24 hours of returning to office. He has later characterized those remarks as "sarcastic" as negotiations drag on.     

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the talks between representatives from Russia and the US in Miami on a possible peace deal to end the war in Ukraine is a "working process" rather than a turning point.

According to Peskov, who was quoted by state-owned Russian agency TASS, Russia's focus was getting information from the US team on "the results of their work with the Europeans and Ukrainians."

The Kremlin spokesman also added Russia would then decide on how much this work "corresponds to the spirit" of the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska on August 15.

The Russian army launched a drone attack Monday evening on the coastal city of Odesa in southwestern Ukraine.

Regional Governor Oleh Kiper reported on the attack on his Telegram account, saying it damaged port facilities and a civilian ship. 

He said that the relevant authorities were dealing with the aftermath of the attack, while also adding that there is currently no information regarding casualties.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the negotiations between his country and the US over a peace deal with Russia look "quite solid at this stage."

While admitting no side is likely to get all of its demands, Zelenskyy said many parts of the US proposals are in line with his country's demands.

Zelenskyy said that there are "some thing" Ukraine is not willing to accept, while the same can be said about the Russians as well.

According to the Ukrainian leader, the solutions to many of the key issues — which include Kyiv's European Union membership, the future size of its army and others — are likely to lie with other countries and their support for his country.

"Some key countries will provide presence in these domains; others will contribute to energy security, finance, bomb shelters, and so on," the Ukrainian president said.

US special envoy Stefe Witkoff said Sunday that his talks with Ukrainian and European representatives, which took place in Florida, were "productive and constructive.

The European Union (EU) barred two members of the judiciary in Russia from entering its members' territory due to allegations of human rights violations.

The two, Dmitry Gordeev and Lyudmila Balandina, will also not be able to use any assets held in the 27-country bloc.

A statement issued by the EU blamed the two for "serious human rights violations, the repression of civil society and democratic opposition, and the undermining of democracy and the rule of law in Russia."

EU citizens and businesses located in the EU's territory are also prohibited from providing the two with funds.

According to the statement, Gordeev made politically motivated judgements against opposition representatives and human rights defenders as part of his role as a judge at the Moscow City Court, while Balandina, a prosecutor, abused her position to issue politically motivated charges. 

The Ukrainian military said they encountered Russian soldiers riding horses near the front line. On Monday, Ukraine's 92nd Separate Assault Brigade posted a video on Telegram that appears to show Russian soldiers traveling on horseback or mules being struck by small drones.

"The Russian occupiers are losing their equipment so quickly in their 'meat assaults,'" Ukraine's term for direct attacks with little chance of survival, "that they are being forced to move on horses," the brigade wrote in the post.

Both sides of the conflict heavily rely on drones to monitor the battlefield. This makes undetected movement nearly impossible and severely limits the use of armored vehicles.

Consequently, Russian forces have increasingly relied on small assault groups to advance quickly toward Ukrainian positions and attempt to establish a foothold.

Previous videos have shown Russian troops using off-road motorcycles, quad bikes, electric bicycles, and electric scooters for transportation.

A Russian general was killed in a car bombing in southern Moscow on Monday, Russia's federal investigators said.

Fanil Sarvarov, head of the Operational Training Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces' General Staff, died from his injuries.

"Investigators are pursuing numerous lines of inquiry regarding the murder. One of these is that the crime was orchestrated by Ukrainian intelligence services," Svetlana Petrenko, spokesperson for Russia's Investigative Committee, said.

Read more about the other top Russian officers killed in Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The European Commission announced that Ukraine received an additional €2.3 billion ($2.7 billion) from the European Union to support its finances and public administration.

Since Russia's attack on Ukraine in February 2022, the EU and its member states have pledged hundreds of billions of euros in assistance to the war-torn country, including military aid, financial support, and aid for Ukrainian refugees.

One of the EU's main funding instruments is the Ukraine Facility. It has a total budget of €50 billion. According to the Commission, the Facility is designed to support Ukraine's recovery, reforms, and path toward EU membership.

Additionally, the EU is providing approximately €18.1 billion through the Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) loans initiative, a G7 effort to support Ukraine financially. This funding is generated from the interest earned on frozen Russian state assets held within the EU.

Russian state media on Monday quoted the country's deputy foreign minister Sergey Ryabkov citing "slow progress" in staggered negotiations held between US, Russian and Ukrainian representatives in US-led talks to end Russia's ongoing nearly four-year invasion of its neighbor.

Ryabkov also reportedly pushed Washington to sideline European leaders, saying there were "extremely harmful, malicious attempts by an influential group of states to torpedo these efforts."

US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner have hosted both Russian and Ukrainian negotiators as the two try to push Ukraine into ceding land to Moscow in order to stop Moscow's unprovoked invasion — which Russian President Vladimir Putin commenced on February 24, 2022 — and bring an end to the war.

The US has at times sidelined Ukraine's European allies, whom Moscow claims are only interested in prolonging the war.

US and Ukrainian representatives said their talks focused on security guarantees for Kyiv. 

In identical posts on X, Witkoff and lead Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov said; "Over the last three days in Florida, the Ukrainian delegation held a series of productive and constructive meetings with American and European partners. Ukraine remains fully committed to achieving a just and sustainable peace."

Putin advisor Kirill Dmitriev, who represented Russia in Miami, described talks as "constructive," according to Russia's state news agency TASS, to which Witkoff posted that "Russia remains fully committed to achieving peace in Ukraine."

Today, we will discuss the latest updates from Ukraine, including the progress of the US-led peace talks in Miami.

In an attempt to end Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which has lasted nearly four years, the Trump administration's international negotiators, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, met separately with Ukrainian and Russian representatives.

Elsewhere, a car bomb killed a leading Russian general in Moscow Monday morning and Ukrainian drone operators report having attacked Russian soldiers traveling on horseback.

Stay tuned for these stories and more.