Ukraine's President spoke optimistically about the progress of revising the Trump administration's peace plan, saying "it looks better" and the work will continue during talks on how to end Russia's nearly four-year war.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke after meeting with France's President on Monday (December 1, 2025), the latest in discussions aimed at brokering the terms for a potential ceasefire in the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II.
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin would meet with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff on Tuesday. Witkoff's role came under scrutiny last week following a report that he coached Putin's foreign affairs adviser on how Russia's leader should pitch to Trump on the Ukraine peace plan.
Mr. Zelenskyy's visit to Paris followed Sunday's meeting between Ukrainian and U.S. officials, which Secretary of State Marco Rubio described as productive. The two sides have worked to revise the proposed US-authored plan that was developed in negotiations between Washington and Moscow but criticised as being too weighted toward Russian demands.
The Kremlin late Monday boasted of Russia's battlefield gains ahead of the talks, claiming Moscow's troops have captured the key city of Pokrovsk in the eastern Donetsk region. According to Mr. Peskov, Mr. Putin received a report about Pokrovsk's capture on Sunday.
