December 31, 2025, 08:41December 31, 2025, 9:00 a.m
According to information from Kiev, the negotiations to end the war in Ukraine started by Russia are entering the next round with a summit at the beginning of January. A meeting of national security advisors from the “Coalition of the Willing” is initially planned for January 3rd in Ukraine, wrote the country’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, on Telegram. Shortly afterwards, on January 6th, another meeting at the level of the heads of state is planned.
“We are grateful to President Trump’s team for their willingness to take part in both formats,” he added, referring to US President Donald Trump. Western countries that also support Ukraine militarily see themselves as a “coalition of the willing”.
Russia is again targeting Ukraine’s Odessa region
Meanwhile, according to Ukrainian information, the Russian army again attacked the Odessa region on the Black Sea with numerous drones on Wednesday night. Two multi-story residential buildings and infrastructure were hit and damaged in the port city of Odessa, and six people, including three children aged 7 months, 8 and 14 years, were injured, the head of the military administration of the city of Odessa, Serhiy Lyssak, wrote on Telegram, according to Ukrainian media. Several apartments caught fire.
Large parts of Odessa have already been destroyed.Image: keystone
In some parts of Odessa, electricity, water and heat supplies were out, Lyssak said. The regional military administrator Oleh Kiper also reported on Telegram that the Odessa region was being massively attacked with drones. The aim is once again to provide civil energy and electricity. The Russian army has been shelling Odessa and the surrounding area with missiles and drones for weeks, targeting energy plants, industry and the ports.
Russian oil refinery attacked
Meanwhile, according to media reports, Ukraine attacked oil facilities in Russia. In the southern Russian region of Krasnodar, a fire broke out at the oil refinery in the port of Tuapse on the Black Sea, the region’s operational staff said. The fire had been extinguished. Two people were injured in the drone attack. There was also damage to one of the port’s piers and to five houses as well as to a gas pipe, the statement said.
The Ukrainian armed forces have been attacking Russia’s oil industry, which is important for financing the war, for months. However, the damage is incomparable to the extent of the destruction and the number of victims caused by Russian attacks in Ukraine.
Lots of optimism, little tangible progress
Just this weekend, Trump welcomed Zelenskyj in Florida for talks about ending the war. Although both sides subsequently expressed optimism about the progress of the negotiations, no concrete progress was announced.
Zelensky and Trump in Florida, during talks to end the war.Image: keystone
Zelensky initially spoke of the fact that there was now agreement on US security guarantees for his country after the end of the war. But he later admitted that the duration of these guarantees was still being negotiated. The USA proposed 15 years, Ukraine asked for up to 50 years.
Russia wants to rethink its position
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered war against Ukraine almost four years ago. Although Moscow also recently saw progress in the negotiations, the Kremlin has now tightened its tone again: Because of alleged attacks on one of Putin’s residences, Russia threatened to take a tougher position in the negotiations in the future. Russia has not yet made any significant external concessions and continues to insist that Ukraine renounce its own territories and NATO membership.
Zelenskyj again denied the attack on the residence in Valdai, northern Russia, which the Kremlin complained about, on Tuesday in a chat with journalists. What is clear, however, is that both sides have been attacking their neighbor’s hinterland from the air for a long time. Ukraine uses drones almost exclusively for this purpose, while Russia also uses ballistic missiles and cruise missiles.
Major power outage in Moscow region after drone attack
In the area surrounding the Russian capital Moscow, the power supply for more than 100,000 people was lost following a fire in a substation. According to a statement from the Ramenskoye city administration, the cause is a cable fire. However, a major Ukrainian drone attack was reported in the region at the same time.
The lights of the Russian capital keep going dark.Image: keystone
Residents of the cities of Zhukovsky and Lytkarino are also affected by the power outage. Ramenskoye and Zhukovsky are large cities; more than 60,000 people live in Lytkarino. The exact number of those affected is not known. The authorities promised that the damage would be repaired quickly.
Air traffic temporarily suspended
In the evening, the Russian military reported shooting down more than 100 Ukrainian drones within four hours. The majority of them were intercepted in the Bryansk region of western Russia on the border with Ukraine, but eight drones were also intercepted over the Moscow area. The military said three of them were heading towards the capital.
The governor of the Moscow region, Andrei Vorobyov, wrote in his Telegram channel about 21 drones shot down in the region. According to him, there was also at least one injured person. A 57-year-old man was taken to hospital with splinter injuries to his back and arm. Because of the drone attacks, Moscow airports also had to stop operations several times in the evening for hours. (sda/dpa)
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