Zelenskyy: 'Finalizing work' on revised peace plan

We've moved to tracking US President Donald Trump's comments about a phone call with European leaders as well as other developing news here.

A vessel alleged to belong to Russia's so-called "shadow fleet" was struck by a naval drone in the Black Sea, according to a Ukrainian security source.

Kyiv's naval drones "struck the Dashan oil tanker, which belongs to the Russian Federation's 'shadow fleet,' in the Black Sea," a source in Ukraine's GUR military intelligence service told the AFP news agency.

The official said the tanker — which is under EU and British sanctions — had been sailing at maximum speed with its transponders switched off when it was struck.

"Over the past two weeks, this is the third tanker of the shadow fleet put out of action that had helped the Kremlin circumvent international sanctions," the source was quoted as saying.

Russia is circumventing Western sanctions with the help of a large "shadow fleet" of aging tankers to transport its energy supplies.

European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said she was confident Ukraine's journey to EU membership would not be derailed by Hungary.

"On EU membership of Ukraine  — which is inevitable — I see this as a political anchor of security guarantees," AP news agency quoted Kos as saying.

"There has never been a war on the territory of the European Union," Kos noted.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has opposed launching membership talks while the war is ongoing.

Kos dismissed his objections: "We do not need Orban to do the reforms which are necessary for Ukraine to become a member of the EU."

Kyiv applied for EU membership in 2022 shortly after Russia's invasion on February 24.

Kos indicated that the process could move even faster, depending on how quickly reforms took place. 

"The quicker the reforms which are needed will be done, the quicker the process can be," Kos said.

The office of the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that he, along with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz spoke to US President Donald Trump about the situation in Ukraine.

"The leaders discussed the latest on the ongoing US-led peace talks, welcoming their efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace for Ukraine, and to see an end to the killing," a statement issued by Downing Street said.

"Intensive work on the peace plan is continuing and will continue in the coming days," Downing Street said, confirming that the revised plan would not be sent on Wednesday as had been initially anticipated.

"They agreed that this was a critical moment — for Ukraine, its people and for shared security across the Euro-Atlantic region," the statement concluded.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said work was continuing "to identify doable and realistic steps" to end the war.

"Everything must be reliable and dignified for Ukraine," Zelenskyy said in a post on X.

Ukraine's leader said Wednesday there would be talks with the US on the document detailing Ukraine's postwar reconstruction.

"In parallel, we are finalizing work on the 20 points of a fundamental document that could define the parameters for ending the war," Zelenskyy said, adding, "we expect to deliver this document to the United States in the near future following our joint work with President Trump’s team and partners in Europe."

Zelenskyy on Tuesday said that he had been hoping to send through the revised plan on Wednesday after he was criticized by US President Donald Trump, who accused him of not having read the document.

Zelenskyy said that on Thursday there would be a meeting of the "Coalition of the Willing" with work  "to guarantee future security and prevent a recurrence of Russian aggression."

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer have held a joint call with US President Donald Trump.

The details of what was discussed were not immediately made public.

"I was at the Saint-Malo town hall for a phone call with some colleagues and President Trump on the question of Ukraine," Macron said after arriving for a public debate in the Brittany town of Saint-Malo on social media networks.

"We had about 40 minutes of discussion to advance on a subject that concerns all of us," he said.

The calls came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Tuesday, said that he planned to send a revised peace plan to the US and that he was ready for elections in Ukraine if their security could be assured.

Ukraine's military said its forces were fending off a Russian mechanised assault on the town of Porkrosvk in the Donetsk region.

"The Russians used armoured vehicles, cars, and motorcycles.The convoys attempted to break through from the south to the northern part of the city," the 7th Rapid Response Corps said in a post on Facebook.

The combat unit said Russian forces had tried to take advantage of adverse weather conditions with the situation being active since the morning.

Russia has claimed full control of the city, however, Kyiv says it holds its northern part.

Russia has been trying to take Pokrovsk for more than a year, as the city is at a strategically important crossroads and would provide Russian forces a base of operations to push deeper into Donetsk. It has been largely destroyed.

Both Germany and Poland plan to work more closely together on defense systems aimed at combating drones.

"We would like to draw on and make use of Germany's experience in this area," said Pawel Zalewski, a high-ranking official in Poland's Defense Ministry.

"The aim now is to shoot down drones or render them harmless in a cheaper, more cost-effective way," he said.

German Parliamentary State Secretary of Defense Nils Schmid was confident further cooperation would take place, "I am sure that we, as European allies, will work very closely together on this."

Schmid was visiting German military personnel at the Malbork Airbase in Gdansk.

Germany has fighter aircraft stationed there that help protect NATO airspace. 

On Tuesday, as part of a Christmas visit to German forces, Schmid was at the Mihail Kogalniceanu Airbase in Romania.

Around 170 German soldiers have been stationed there since August, alongside five Eurofighter jets securing NATO airspace until March 2026.

The jets have scrambled up to three times daily to identify drones approaching from Russian-occupied territories, Schmid noted.

No drones have been shot down so far — a decision that would weigh the risk of debris and explosives falling on Romanian towns, a senior Bundeswehr officer told the media. Still, the political signal matters: deterring Russia from continued violations of NATO airspace.

President Donald Trump's new National Security Strategy accuses European allies of censorship and "civilizational erasure."

Brando Benifei, MEP and chair of the EU's Delegation for Relations with the US, pushes back and explains how Europe should react.

A defense technology company in Czech Republic has unveiled a new long-range missile, according to local media reports.

Online news publication Aktualne reported that Czech company LPP was testing its Narwhal cruise missile and planing to transfer the weapon to Ukraine.

The publication reported that final testing would take place in Ukraine with combat use expected in January-February 2026.

Analysts at Defense Express say that Narwhal missile would be capable of striking targets of up to 680 kilometers (422 miles), putting Moscow in range.

Defense Express said that the missile had a maximum speed of up to 750 kph and could deliver a 120-kilogram warhead.

The Ukrainian president was in Italy, where he met with the pope and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Watch below for the full report on his trip.

"We are not at war, but we are no longer at peace either," is how German Chancellor Friedrich Merz summarized the mood in Germany back in late September.

Ever since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, there has been talk of hybrid warfare among German security and politcal experts.

Find out how Germany's intelligence service is pushing for more powers in the fight against espionage and sabotage. 

Leaders of Ukraine's key allies will meet via videoconference on Thursday, the French presidency said.

The session will bring together the so-called "coalition of the willing," a group that have promised to boost military support for Ukraine.

"Tomorrow's meeting of the coalition of the willing, co-chaired by France and the United Kingdom, will enable progress to be made on the security guarantees to be offered to Ukraine and the important contribution of the Americans," French government spokesperson Maud Bregeon said on Wednesday.

No further details about the meeting's agenda have been released.

Russia has welcomed comments by US President Donald Trump suggesting Moscow retains the "upper hand" in Ukraine and that Kyiv must cede territory.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the remarks "very important," saying they aligned with Russia's position on territorial concessions and NATO membership.

"In many ways, on the subject of NATO membership, on the subject of territories, on the subjects of how Ukraine is losing land, it is in tune with our understanding," Peskov said.

In an interview with Politico, Trump described European leaders as "weak" and said Ukraine would never join NATO.

Russia has long questioned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's legitimacy and called for his removal from power.

Poland is negotiating the transfer of its aging MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine while seeking access to Ukrainian drone technology, Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz has said in a public radio interview.

"In some time, MiG-29 aircraft will no longer serve in the Polish Air Force due to their depleted service life," the defense minister said. "We are negotiating with the Ukrainian side about transferring the MiG-29s, but we are also discussing transferring technologies to Poland, such as drones. This solidarity must be two-way."

The General Staff of the Polish Army said the potential transfer reflects the lack of modernization options for the Soviet-era aircraft. It said the move would form part of allied efforts to support Ukraine and reinforce NATO's eastern flank, though a final decision is still pending.

Roles now handled by the MiGs would shift to Poland's F-16 and FA-50 fleets. The military said talks with Ukraine also cover possible access to selected drone and missile technologies.