IRIA News

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Russian President Vladimir Putin met U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner at the Kremlin, Moscow, on December 2, 2025, for high-stakes discussions on a possible settlement to the nearly four-year war in Ukraine.

The meeting, which lasted almost five hours and continued past midnight, came amid sharply escalating rhetoric from Moscow and growing concern in Kyiv and European capitals over the shape of a potential peace deal.

Just hours before the talks began, Putin warned that Europe would face swift defeat if it chose to enter a direct conflict with Russia. He dismissed recent European counter-proposals for ending the war as “absolutely unacceptable” and accused European powers of trying to sabotage the U.S.-led peace effort.

Putin reiterated that Russia has no plans to attack Europe, but also threatened that Russia is “ready” for a military confrontation if one were to break out and there could be “a situation in which there won’t be anyone to negotiate with.” He added: “We’re not going to have a war with Europe, I’ve already said. But if Europe suddenly wants to wage a war with us and starts it, we are ready right away. There can be no doubt about that.”

His remarks came during an investment forum in Moscow where he also threatened to expand attacks on Ukrainian ports and vessels in retaliation for strikes on tankers belonging to Russia’s so-called shadow oil fleet in the Black Sea.

The U.S. delegation’s visit followed the emergence of a leaked 28-point draft peace proposal last week, which alarmed Ukrainian and European officials who said the plan conceded too much to Moscow.

The draft included limits on Ukraine’s military, recognition of Russian control over large parts of the occupied territory, and guarantees that Kyiv would never join NATO. The United States has since worked with Ukraine to create what officials describe as an “updated and refined peace framework,” though details have not been released publicly.

At the start of the Kremlin meeting, Putin greeted Witkoff with a smile and asked about his and Kushner’s walk through central Moscow, including a stroll across Red Square. “It is a magnificent city,” Witkoff replied, according to the Kremlin’s official account of the conversation.

The talks included key Russian officials such as foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov and investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev, along with interpreters from both sides.

In Washington, Trump told cabinet members that U.S. negotiators were “over in Russia right now to see if we can get it settled,” adding that the situation was “not an easy one” and that the war was causing “25,000 to 30,000” casualties per month.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has been leading efforts to revise the draft peace plan in response to criticism from Kyiv and Europe, said Witkoff’s mission was focused on ending the conflict.

Russia Rejects Territorial Compromise

Following the nearly five-hour session, Ushakov said that while the talks were “very useful and constructive,” the sides remained far apart on the central issue of territorial control. “So far, we haven’t found a compromise, but some American solutions can be discussed,” he said. He noted that “a lot of work lies ahead both in Washington and in Moscow.”

Russia’s core demands remain unchanged: a guarantee that Ukraine will never join NATO; caps on the size of Ukraine’s armed forces; Russian control over the whole of the Donbas; and recognition of Moscow’s authority over Crimea, Donbas, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson.

Kyiv has rejected these conditions as “capitulation,” arguing they would leave the country vulnerable to future aggression. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking during a visit to Dublin, said that “a dignified peace” must not come at the expense of Ukraine’s sovereignty. “There will be no easy solutions,” he said, adding that Ukraine fears Washington could eventually lose interest in the process.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha reacted sharply to Putin’s threats, saying the Russian leader’s comments showed he had no intention of ending the war.

“Yesterday, he said he was prepared to fight through the winter. Today, he threatens sea ports and freedom of navigation,” Sybiha wrote on social media.

Russian forces currently control more than 19 percent of Ukraine, about 115,600 square kilometers. an increase of roughly one percentage point from last year. After months of grinding fighting, Russia has advanced in 2025 at the fastest pace since 2022, according to pro-Ukrainian mapping data. Still, nearly four years into the invasion, Moscow has failed to seize Ukraine outright, despite its larger military and substantial resources.

Diplomacy Unfolds Alongside Battlefield Claims

As the diplomatic push continued, Moscow claimed on Tuesday that its forces had captured Pokrovsk, a strategically important city in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region. Putin hailed the alleged advance as a significant victory, saying it would allow Russian forces to “easily advance in any direction that the General Staff deems most promising.”

Ukraine denied that Russia had seized the entire city, saying its forces still held the northern part and were counterattacking in the south.

The U.S. estimates that more than 1.2 million people have been killed or wounded since the full-scale war began in February 2022. Neither Ukraine nor Russia publicly discloses casualty figures. The fighting has devastated cities across eastern and southern Ukraine and displaced millions of people.

European governments, unsettled by the leaked U.S. proposals, have been drafting their own counter-offers to protect Ukraine from what they fear could be a punitive peace deal. They have warned that any agreement rewarding Russia for aggression could embolden Moscow and ultimately put NATO countries at risk.

Zelenskyy has repeatedly stated that Ukraine must not be forced into concessions that undermine its territorial integrity. “It is important that everything is fair and open, so that there are no games behind Ukraine’s back,” he said in Dublin.

The flurry of diplomacy is expected to continue. Witkoff and Kushner may meet a Ukrainian delegation as early as Wednesday, possibly in Brussels, a senior Ukrainian official told reporters. Putin has said that the current discussions are not yet about a draft treaty but about ideas that “could be the basis for future agreements.”

Despite the rhetoric, the gap between the sides remains wide. Putin insists Russia is “ready” to fight Europe if necessary, while claiming not to seek war. Ukraine and its allies say Moscow’s demands would formalize an imperial land grab.

And Washington, caught between its European partners and the Kremlin, is trying to craft a settlement that avoids appearing to reward aggression while still bringing the conflict to an end.