Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky says Kyiv strikes show Putin’s ‘true attitude’ ahead of Trump peace talks

Russian air defence forces shot down eight drones headed for Moscow, the city’s mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Saturday.

Russia’s aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia said that Moscow’s Vnukovo and Sheremetyevo airports had imposed temporary restrictions on airspace due to security reasons.

A critical point in the peace plan will involve control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, Europe’s largest, which was seized by Russia in the opening weeks of the war.

Moscow is demanding that Ukraine withdraw from the areas of the eastern region of Donetsk that Russian troops have failed to occupy in their drive to secure all of the Donbas, which also includes the Luhansk region.

Kyiv, however, wants the fighting halted at the current lines.

Under a US compromise, a free economic zone would be set up if Ukrainian troops pull back from parts of the Donetsk region, though details have yet to be worked out.

Axios quoted Zelensky as saying that if he is not able to push the US to back Ukraine’s position on the land issue, he was willing to put the 20-point plan to a referendum – as long as Russia agrees to a 60-day ceasefire allowing Ukraine to prepare for and hold the vote.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Kyiv’s version of the 20-point plan differed from what Russia had been discussing with the U.S., according to the Interfax-Russia news agency.

But he expressed optimism that matters had reached a “turning point” in the search for a settlement.

Putin’s foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, spoke with members of the Trump administration after Moscow received US proposals about a possible peace deal, the Kremlin said on Friday. It did not disclose how Moscow had viewed the documents.

Six Ukrainian banks entered into the largest consortium loan agreement in Ukraine’s financial market history in order to finance the defence industry on Friday.

The loan amounts to 21.5 billion hryvnia, with a three-year term under state guarantees.

Banks from both the public and private sectors united to finance one of Ukraine’s defence industry enterprises with a state-owned bank acting as the lead arranger of the consortium loan.

The implementation of the agreement opens new opportunities to scale up and modernise production within the defence industry.

The defence minister said: “Financing the defence industry is one of the key pillars of state resilience during wartime. The Ministry of Defence spent more than four months working with the National Bank of Ukraine, the Ministry of Finance, and the banking sector to create the conditions needed to implement this consortium.

“The scale of the consortium demonstrates banks’ readiness to support the defense industry and strengthen the country’s defense capability. This means more Ukrainian-made weapons for our defenders. We continue to consistently implement initiatives to equip the Ukrainian military with modern weaponry. We count on continued support from the banking sector.”

Territory remains the main diplomatic stumbling block, though Zelensky told journalists in Kyiv on Friday that a 20-point draft document – the cornerstone of a US push to clinch a peace deal – is 90% complete.

He said a security guarantee agreement between Ukraine and the US was almost ready – a critical element after guarantees in earlier post-Soviet years proved meaningless.

“A lot can be decided before the New Year,” Zelensky posted on social media.

Trump said the United States was the driving force behind the process.

“He doesn’t have anything until I approve it,” Trump told Politico. “So we’ll see what he’s got.”

Before their meeting, Zelensky will have a call on Saturday with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and other European leaders, a Commission spokesperson said.

Zelensky told Axios the US had offered a 15-year deal on security guarantees, subject to renewal, but Kyiv wanted a longer agreement with legally binding provisions to guard against further Russian aggression.

Trump said he believed Sunday’s meeting would go well. He also said he expected to speak with Putin “soon, as much as I want.”

Talks on Ukraine should progress towards a “just and lasting peace”, Sir Keir Starmer has told European leaders, as Volodymyr Zelensky prepares to meet US president Donald Trump.

In a call with German and French leaders on Friday, the Prime Minister said it remained “a crucial moment for Ukraine and security across the Euro-Atlantic region” as they emphasised their “unwavering commitment” to Ukraine.

A Downing Street spokesperson said the leaders “reiterated their unshakeable commitment for a just and lasting peace for Ukraine and the importance that talks continue to progress towards this in the coming days”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday he was on his way to the US for talks with president Donald Trump in Florida, where he said he hoped to find a compromise over a peace framework to end Russia’s war.

In audio messages sent to reporters, Zelensky said security guarantees offered by Washington were key to ensuring peace, and that the extent of those guarantees depended on what Trump was willing to offer.

Ahead of his meeting with US president Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine has its “red lines” but is sure compromise can be found as he aims to discuss security guarantees and territorial issues in Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk.

He continued that Ukraine would need more air defence missiles as Russia continues to bombard the country with missiles and drones – the latest attack involving almost 500 drones and 40 missiles, just days after a 600-strong drone and missile attack from Moscow.

He added Ukraine could not have a referendum under the current security conditions and strong security guarantees were needed to facilitate democratic process.