4 days ago
7
Chief of unit Kyrylo Budanov says advancement has been made astatine cardinal Paris summit.
Published On 7 Jan 2026
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s caller main of unit has reported “concrete results” person already been reached successful ongoing talks implicit an extremity to the warfare and post-conflict information guarantees with Western allies.
Kyrylo Budanov offered the update connected Telegram connected Wednesday, arsenic talks continued successful Paris astatine the largest-ever acme of the “coalition of the willing” – a radical of 35 countries that person pledged to enactment Kyiv against Russian aggression.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 items- list 1 of 4Ukraine’s apical allies conscionable successful Paris to propulsion for Kyiv’s information guarantees
- list 2 of 4US backs information guarantees for Ukraine, arsenic France and UK pledge troops
- list 3 of 4Macron, Starmer, Zelenskyy motion Ukraine unit deployment pact
- list 4 of 4Russia-Ukraine war: List of cardinal events, time 1,413
“Ukrainian national interests volition beryllium defended,” Budanov insisted, though helium gave nary details astir the advancement made.
In a consequent societal media post, Zelenskyy said that the talks connected Wednesday, which volition again see United States envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, would code “the astir hard issues” successful the discussions to extremity the astir four-year war.
In airy of Russia’s demands that Ukraine cede 4 of its eastbound regions, territorial questions are the toughest for Kyiv. Within that taxable is the presumption of the Zaporizhzhia atomic powerfulness plant.
“Ukraine does not shy distant from the astir hard issues and volition ne'er beryllium an obstacle to peace,” Zelenskyy insisted, repeating a mantra designed to ward disconnected accusations from Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump that Ukraine is not superior astir ending the conflict.
“Peace indispensable beryllium dignified,” helium added. “And this depends connected the partners – connected whether they guarantee Russia’s existent readiness to extremity the war.”
High tension
The updates travel a time aft the United States pledged to backmost information guarantees for Ukraine, including starring a truce monitoring mechanism, portion France and the United Kingdom said they would deploy forces to Ukrainian territory if a ceasefire was agreed.
The progress, hailed by some European leaders and US envoys, came amid days of precocious tension owed to Trump’s assertive overseas argumentation lunge successful Venezuela and consequent threats regarding his tendency to instrumentality Greenland from NATO state Denmark.
Russia, which occupies astir a 5th of Ukrainian territory and has not signalled immoderate willingness to compromise connected its fundamentalist demands, has fixed nary denotation that it would judge a colony backed by overseas troops wrong Ukraine.
As talks continued successful Paris, Ukraine and Russia continued to commercialized attacks connected the ground.
Ukrainian drones hit an oil depot successful Russia’s Belgorod region overnight, the commander of the drone forces said.
The onslaught ignited a occurrence astatine the depot that was yet extinguished, the Vesti authorities tv channel reported, citing the determination Russian governor.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defence Ministry said it had launched air, drone, artillery and rocket strikes connected Ukrainian long-range drone motorboat sites, ammunition depots, military instrumentality and troops.
Putin’s ‘holy mission’
Amid the ongoing fighting, President Vladimir Putin attended a Russian Orthodox Christmas work wherever helium hailed his troops’ “holy mission” to defend the country.
He has progressively leaned connected patriotic and spiritual symbolism arsenic the struggle grinds on.
“Russia’s warriors person always, arsenic if astatine the Lord’s behest, carried retired this ngo of defending the fatherland and its people, redeeming the motherland and its people,” Putin said astatine the St George Victory Bearer church, adjacent Moscow, aft the service.
“At all times successful Russia, this is however radical person regarded their warriors, arsenic those who, arsenic if astatine the Lord’s behest, transportation retired this beatified mission.”
Video footage showed Putin in a acheronian suit without a necktie among uniformed servicemen, alongside wives and children, arsenic clerics conducted the service.
English (US) ·