War against Ukraine: Putin insists on territorial claims

Russian leader Vladimir Putin reiterated his unyielding Russian territorial demands on Ukraine at a meeting with US negotiators.

In a conversation with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Moscow, the Kremlin chief said that for Russia there was only one possible border line with Ukraine, and that was the official Russian external border. According to Putin's understanding, this border also includes Ukrainian territories that Russia has annexed. The Kremlin released a video recording of the start of the conversation.

In addition to the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed in 2014, Moscow also declared the Ukrainian administrative regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson to be Russian territory in 2022. From a military point of view, the four areas are partly under Ukrainian control. Above all, Russia demands a withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donetsk and Luhansk, the so-called Donbass, which Putin was unable to conquer in almost five years of war.

Ukraine categorically rejects any cessions of territory. She also points out that the Russian troops have not advanced as far as the Moscow General Staff reported to Putin.

Putin proposes aid operation for Kostiantynivka

In the conversation, the Kremlin chief suggested a humanitarian action for the Donbass town of Kostyantynivka in order to evacuate civilians from there, as was recently the case in the front-line town of Oleshky, which is occupied by Moscow. During a ceasefire lasting several days at the end of October, hundreds of civilians were able to leave the city. Regarding the situation in Kostiantynivka, Putin said that there were "around 400 to 500 civilians left there."

But while Oleshky in the Kherson region to the south is clearly in Russian hands, the situation in Kostiantynivka is less clear. According to military bloggers, there are still positions of Ukrainian soldiers there.

Moscow: Europeans should appoint negotiators

Witkoff, as special envoy of US President Donald Trump, and Trump's son-in-law Kushner traveled to Moscow to inform Putin about talks with representatives of Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi. Kushner raised the question of European participation in negotiations to end the war.

Russia was never against talks with the Europeans, Putin replied. But he said the US should work with the Europeans to help them decide whether they want war or peace. Russia also demands that the Europeans appoint a negotiator.

Putin's stance on the possible participation of Europeans in the talks seems to contradict the statement of the spokesman for the Russian presidential office, Dmitry Peskov. He made it clear on Wednesday that the Moscow delegation in Abu Dhabi was not interested in meeting with the European representatives who were also present there.

Onward flight to EU consultations in Dublin

After the meeting with Putin, Witkoff and Kushner fly on to Dublin to inform Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Europeans. Today, at the summit of the European Political Community, heads of state and government from almost 50 countries will discuss, among other things, Ukraine. An informal EU summit will take place in Dublin on Friday, which will also focus on aid for Ukraine.

There is also discussion in Dublin about who should speak for the Europeans in the Ukraine negotiations. Chancellor Friedrich Merz sees Germany, France and Great Britain as having a turn. This so-called E3 is a tried and tested format, to which Italy and Poland are partly included, said Merz. "I don't see any problem at all with it staying that way."

Zelenskyj: Satellite internet for Ukraine throttled again

As the US advances its vision of a peace solution for Ukraine and Europe, Zelensky reported that the militarily important US satellite internet Starshield was once again throttled in Ukraine. The army has been experiencing disruptions again for a few days.