Trilateral talks discusssed military, political issues, Zelensky says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said military issues were the primary topic of discussion at the trilateral talks with the US and Russia over the weekend, but that political issues were also discussed.
“The meetings covered a range of important issues – primarily military, essential to bringing the war to an end,” Zelensky said on X.
“Preparations are now underway for new trilateral meetings this week,” he added.
Germany slams Russia’s ‘stubborn insistence’ on Ukraine territorial claims
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has denounced Russia’s “stubborn insistence on the crucial territorial issue” following talks between Russian, Ukrainian and US envoys last week in Abu Dhabi.
“What I am hearing and reading today, including from the negotiations in the United Arab Emirates, is only Russia’s stubborn insistence on the crucial territorial issue,” Wadephul said in Riga. “And if there is no flexibility here, I fear that the negotiations may still take a long time or may not be successful at this stage.”
Germany slams Russia’s ‘stubborn insistence’ on Ukraine territorial claims
“What I am hearing and reading today, including from the negotiations in the United Arab Emirates, is only Russia’s stubborn insistence on the crucial territorial issue,” Wadephul said in Riga. “And if there is no flexibility here, I fear that the negotiations may still take a long time or may not be successful at this stage.”
Czechs raise over $6 million to buy generators for freezing Ukraine
Czechs have collected more than $6 million in just five days in a grassroots fundraising effort to buy generators, heaters and batteries for Ukraine, where hundreds of thousands are freezing in subzero temperatures after Russian attacks on power plants.
Its latest effort raised 126 million crowns ($6.16 million) from 74,745 donors from last Wednesday until Monday morning, and another roughly 15 million crowns is on the way from donors, organiser Martin Ondracek told Reuters.
“Over the weekend we booked two generators – the diesel-fuelled boxes that come on a truck – for 8 million crowns each that should go to two smaller health facilities,” Ondracek said.
The initiative cooperated with three funds in Ukraine to avoid lengthy logistical and customs delays but is also in talks with Czech suppliers as not everything is available on the spot, he added.
“There are about 30 people working on this, we need to spend the money as fast as possible,” Ondracek said, adding there was a particular demand for chemical heaters and batteries.
“Batteries are key for people to charge when power is available so they have at least some power for a kettle or charging phones.”
Ukraine’s military says it struck oil refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar region
Ukraine’s military struck the Slavyansk Eko oil refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar region overnight, it has said in a statement on the Telegram app.
“Strike drones were recorded hitting the plant’s territory and explosions were heard in the target area. According to preliminary information, elements of the primary oil processing facility were hit,” the statement said.
EU countries give final approval to Russian gas ban
European Union countries on Monday gave their final approval to the bloc’s plan to ban Russian gas imports by late 2027, allowing it to pass into law.
Under the agreement, the EU will halt Russian liquefied natural gas imports by the end of 2026 and pipeline gas by 30 September 2027, legalising EU’s vow to cut ties with its former top gas supplier, nearly four years after Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Ministers from EU countries approved the law at a meeting in Brussels on Monday, although Slovakia and Hungary voted against.
Hungary and Slovakia remain heavily reliant on Russian energy imports and want to maintain close ties with Moscow. Hungary said it would take the case to the European Court of Justice.
Russian ownership of Donbas ‘fundamental’ condition of peace talks with Ukraine, Moscow says
The Kremlin has said that the issue of territory remains fundamental to Russia when it comes to getting a deal to end the fighting in Ukraine, the state TASS news agency reported after trilateral weekend talks in Abu Dhabi.
President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that Russia will take all of Ukraine’s Donbas region – of which Moscow’s forces currently control 90% – by force unless Kyiv gives it up in a peace deal.
“It’s no secret that this is our consistent position, the position of our president, that the territorial issue, which is part of the Anchorage formula, is of fundamental importance to the Russian side,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by the TASS state news agency.
The “Anchorage formula” refers to what Russia says was agreed between US President Donald Trump and Putin at a summit in Alaska last August, according to a source close to the Kremlin.
That purported agreement, according to the same source, envisages Ukraine handing Russia control of all of Donbas and freezing the front lines elsewhere in Ukraine’s east and south as a condition of any future peace deal.
Russia says Ukraine talks in UAE held in ‘constructive spirit’
The Kremlin has said the US-brokered trilateral talks in the UAE between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators had been held in a “constructive spirit” but that there was still “significant work ahead”.
“It would be a mistake to expect any significant results from the initial contacts… But the very fact that these contacts have begun in a constructive spirit can be viewed positively. However, there is significant work ahead,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.
Kremlin says territorial issue is fundamentally important in Ukraine talks, state media report
The Kremlin has said that the territorial issue remains of fundamental importance to Russia in peace talks with the United States and Ukraine, Russian state media reported.
State news agency RIA cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peksov as saying that Moscow positively assesses what he called “constructive talks” on Ukraine.
Drone debris spark fire at two enterprises in Russia’s Krasnodar region, authorities say
Two enterprises caught fire and one person was injured in the city of Slavyansk-on-Kuban in Russia’s Krasnodar region after drone fragments fell on them, the regional emergencies centre have said.
The centre did not specify what enterprises were affected. The city hosts a private refinery with a capacity of around 100,000 barrels per day, supplying fuel for both domestic use and export.
Russia’s defence ministry said air defence systems had intercepted and destroyed 40 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 34 in the Krasnodar region.
North Korea’s Kim views sculptures for memorial of soldiers who died in Ukraine
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Sunday viewed sculptures to be displayed at a memorial for North Korean troops who died fighting overseas, state media KCNA said on Monday.
Under a mutual defence pact with Russia, in 2024 North Korea sent some 14,000 soldiers to fight alongside Russian troops in Ukraine, where more than 6,000 of them were killed, according to South Korean, Ukrainian and Western sources.
Visiting the Mansudae Art Studio, Kim said the sculptures would “convey forever the legendary feats… of admirable sons of the DPRK”, according to KCNA, using North Korea’s official name, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
US security agreement for Ukraine is ‘100% ready’ to be signed, Zelensky says
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that a US security guarantees document for Ukraine is “100% ready” after two days of talks involving representatives from Ukraine, the US and Russia.
Speaking to journalists in Vilnius during a visit to Lithuania, Zelensky said Ukraine is waiting for its partners to set a signing date, after which the document would go to the US Congress and Ukrainian parliament for ratification.
Zelensky also emphasized Ukraine’s push for European Union membership by 2027, calling it an “economic security guarantee.”
The Ukrainian leader described the talks in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, as likely the first trilateral format in “quite a long while” that included not only diplomats but military representatives from all three sides. The talks, which began on Friday and continued Saturday, were the latest aiming to end Russia’s nearly four-year full-scale invasion.
Zelensky acknowledged fundamental differences between Ukrainian and Russian positions, reaffirming territorial issues as a major sticking point.
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