Zelensky announces upcoming high-level meetings in Ukraine, France
Ukraine is preparing to host a new round of high-level security discussions with Western partners in early January, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Dec. 30, signaling an effort to maintain diplomatic momentum.
National security advisers from the Coalition of the Willing countries, led by the U.K. and France, have agreed to meet in Ukraine on Jan. 3, according to Zelensky.
The meeting will be followed by another meeting among national leaders, planned for Jan. 6 in France, with Zelensky underscoring in his statement that "such meetings are needed."
Zelensky recently returned from the U.S. where he held a two-hour meeting on Dec. 28 with U.S. President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. Kyiv's 20-point peace plan and security guarantees for Ukraine outlined for a period of 15 years, with a possibility for an extension, were among the issues discussed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by telephone with Trump before and after that meeting claiming that Ukraine tried to assassinate him by launching drones at his residence in the Novgorod region.
Zelensky dismissed the claim, adding that Russia was "looking for a pretext" to undermine ongoing peace negotiations. He thanked Trump's team on Dec. 30 for "their readiness to participate in all effective formats" of ongoing peace negotiations.
"We are not losing a single day," Zelensky said.
As Ukraine's push for peace continues, Russia has stepped up its mass attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, with the Energy Ministry reporting on Dec. 30 unprecedented strains on Kyiv and Odesa oblasts.
