The Kremlin has released footage of President Vladimir Putin in military uniform receiving battlefield reports, as Russia claims fresh advances in eastern and southern Ukraine just hours before crucial peace talks in the US.
Russia’s top general, Valery Gerasimov, told Putin that Russian forces had seized full control of Myrnohrad (Dymytrov) in Donetsk and Huliaipole in the Zaporizhzhia region. Putin hailed the gains as “important results” and called Myrnohrad “a serious step towards the complete liberation of the Donetsk People’s Republic.” Kyiv has not confirmed the losses; Ukraine’s General Staff reported only intensified Russian efforts to push its troops back around those areas and said Ukrainian forces had repelled attacks near Huliaipole and Bilohiria.
Putin reiterated that Russia would pursue its objectives “by military means” if Kyiv does not accept what he called “decent terms” for ending the war, but noted that “smart people in the West” were urging Ukraine to compromise in exchange for security assurances and economic recovery.
Against that backdrop, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to meet US President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Florida on Sunday in a bid to finalise a peace agreement to end nearly four years of war. Zelenskyy said he will raise “territorial issues,” with the fate of the Donbas still the core sticking point.
In the days leading up to the meeting, Russia has ramped up missile and drone strikes on Kyiv, which Zelenskyy said were meant to increase pressure on Ukraine’s negotiating position. “Ukraine is willing to do whatever it takes to stop this war,” he posted on X, insisting that Kyiv must be “strong at the negotiating table” and vowing that with Europe and America’s support “together we will stop” Putin.
Speaking in Halifax, Canada, Zelenskyy told Prime Minister Mark Carney that the key to peace is “pressure on Russia and sufficient, strong support for Ukraine.” Carney announced a further US$1.8 billion in economic assistance to help Ukraine rebuild, condemning Russia’s latest strikes as “barbarism” and praising both Zelenskyy and Trump for creating conditions for a “just and lasting peace.”
US and Ukrainian negotiators say a 20-point draft peace framework is now “about 90% ready,” after weeks of shuttle diplomacy and talks in Berlin and Geneva. Under the emerging proposal, Washington would extend NATO-like security guarantees to Ukraine, and Zelenskyy has indicated he is prepared to drop Kyiv’s formal NATO membership bid if robust, binding protections against future Russian attacks are agreed.
