🔗 Share this article

During a major diplomatic effort, the former US president’s special envoy will travel to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders in Berlin over the coming days, while US officials presses for a definitive strategy to end the current war.

Peace Talks and Truce Efforts

Germany stated it would host American and Kyiv representatives for weekend talks focusing on a potential truce, before a more extensive meeting involving European leaders and President Zelenskyy planned for Monday. Via a national address, Zelenskyy personally confirmed the impending meeting with Trump envoy Steve Witkoff: “Most importantly, I will be holding talks with envoys of President Trump, and there will additionally be meetings with our European partners, with several leaders, about the establishment of peace – a political agreement to stop the war,” he said.

Kremlin Conditions for a Truce

Meanwhile, Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov restated that Moscow would only agree to a ceasefire after Ukraine’s military leave areas in the Donetsk region they currently hold. Ushakov added that Russian police and national guard troops would be stationed in sections of the Donbas region should the area becomes a DMZ under a future settlement – a condition considered a non-starter for Ukraine.

Overnight Assaults Hit Ukraine's Critical Systems

In a separate development, Russian forces targeted multiple Ukrainian regions overnight, aiming at the country’s power and maritime infrastructure, according to President Zelenskyy. He indicated the assaults involved over 450 unmanned aerial vehicles and 30 rockets. As temperatures close to freezing, Ukraine’s interior minister, Ihor Klymenko, said over a million residents were rendered in the dark.

Furthermore, an attack on the coastal hub of Odesa caused storage facilities being set ablaze, as stated by Ukrainian deputy prime minister Oleksiy Kuleba. Regional authorities stated that two people were injured in attacks on the wider region.

Security and Aid Updates

Against a backdrop of mounting worries about the Russian threat, Germany stated it will dispatch a military contingent to Poland to assist with a project to reinforce the country’s border with Belarus. Poland, a strong ally of Ukraine, revealed plans last year to bolster a long stretch of its frontier. The main task of the deployed personnel will be “engineering activities,” a defence ministry representative said.

Regarding a separate event, around 480 people were evacuated from a train traveling between the city in Poland of Przemysl and Kyiv after police responded to a report concerning a threat. No one was hurt, and authorities did not elaborate on the specific threat. Poland's security services are on high alert due to several attempts to disrupt rail traffic on the route linking Warsaw to the Ukrainian border.

In other news, Ukraine’s navy alleged Russian forces of intentionally attacking a commercial ship from Turkey carrying cooking oil to Egypt with a UAV on Saturday. The navy said the ship ‘VIVA’ was hit but continued on its voyage, with none of the 11 crew wounded.

Finally, Ukraine received 114 detainees freed by Belarus on Saturday, according to the Ukrainian PoW coordination centre. The released individuals will receive medical attention, and those Belarusian citizens who wish will be relocated to Poland or Lithuania.