War in Ukraine: Putin inflexible against the Americans and Starshield restrained again

Did you miss the latest events on the war in Ukraine? 20 Minutes takes stock for you every evening. Here is the gist of this Thursday, November 12, 2026, on the 1,722nd day of the conflict.

Fact of the day

Vladimir Putin affirmed Thursday that he would remain inflexible on his maximalist demands to end the conflict in Ukraine, while proposing a temporary truce in a key city on the front, during a meeting with Donald Trump's emissaries in the Kremlin. Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were received in Moscow by the Russian president, then left the Kremlin late in the afternoon. They were then to go to Dublin to meet with Volodymyr Zelensky, in the wake of Ukrainian-Russian talks in Abu Dhabi, under the aegis of Washington.

To the American envoys, the Russian president reiterated his country's demands on the territories which Moscow claims to annex, and repeated that any deployment of foreign troops in Ukraine would mean "the continuation of the war".

During this meeting, he proposed the organization of a “humanitarian” operation in the Ukrainian town of Kostiantynivka, at the heart of the fighting in the Donetsk region (east).

Today's statement

“Unfortunately, this helps the Russians kill more Ukrainians and carry out more precise strikes against Ukraine. We are seeking to establish all the circumstances with the American side. »

The Starshield military satellite communications system from the American company SpaceX has been limited again in Ukraine for several days, explained the Ukrainian president, supported by the European Union which called for it to be “urgently restored”.

According to Volodymyr Zelensky, the Starshield terminals, the military version of the civilian Starlink network, are once again limited from a travel speed of 160 km/h, as was already the case in October.

The number of the day

10. This is the number of major Russian oil producers now sanctioned by the UK. London announced new sanctions targeting the Slavneft oil group, ships transporting Russian hydrocarbons and the Vostok Oil project. By taking these measures, the United Kingdom claims to be the first country to sanction the ten main Russian oil producers.

The trend

Europe is trying to find a place at the negotiating table on Ukraine. This Thursday, American envoy Steve Witkoff announced that a new round of talks involving European representatives had been agreed with Russia.

Our file on the war in Ukraine

Meeting in Dublin, Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, however, procrastinated on the appointment of a European envoy. For the French president, Europe must first have “a clear and united vision of what it wants for Ukraine and for itself”. Friedrich Merz, for his part, considered it more urgent to bring Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table.