PUTIN has denied Trump’s claims that he has made concessions for a Ukrainian peace deal, as his army continues their deadly attacks.
Numerous Kremlin officials said they had seen the latest US draft copy of a peace deal to end the ongoing war, but clarified Russia had made no agreement.
On Wednesday, Putin aide Yuri Ushakov appeared on Russian state TV, saying the new draft required “truly serious analysis”.
He said “some points” in the unpublished plan were “viewed positively”, however Russia wanted to discuss other points further before coming to an agreement.
“Many [of the points] require special discussions among experts,” he said.
“The peace plan hasn’t been discussed in detail with anyone yet.”
PAEDO ISLES
Horror rise of child sex slavery on Canary Islands after 13 girls trafficked
DOG HORROR
Tragic student, 23, mauled to death by trio of pit bulls she was dog-sitting
Sergei Ryabkov, a Russian deputy foreign minister, also told a Sky News reporter: “There can be no talk of any concessions or surrender of our approaches regarding key issues we’re facing, including the context of the Special Military Operation”.
Russia has referred the its war with Ukraine as “special military operation” since it began its full scale military assault in 2022.
Ryabkov did however say Russia welcomed “the Trump administration’s efforts to find reasonable solutions and reasonable outcomes”.
Trump has described the plan as a “fine-tuned” version of a previous 28-point document that was rejected by both Kyiv and Europe, who dubbed it the “Kremlin’s wish list”.
A redrafted counter-proposal was immediately smacked down by Russia.
On Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov followed up on Trump’s claims that officials had made progress in peace deal discussions, saying it was “premature” to indicate if an agreement was in the near future.
In the hope the plan would be finalised, special envoy Steve Witkoff has been slated to meet Putin in Moscow and US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll will simultaneously meet the Ukrainian side next week.
Trump – remaining positive – also claimed Russia had made concessions, but did not detail what they were, as key sticking points continuing to halt the peace deal.
The original document would have seen Ukraine withdraw from its eastern Donetsk region, while the US would recognise the Donetsk, Crimea and Luhansk regions as Russian.
So far, it is unknown what points had been removed and which remained in the new document.
Concurrently, EU Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen said negotiations to refine the US plan had started to lay the groundwork for a possible settlement, but also warned that Russia showed no sign of really wanting to stop the fighting.
“I want to be clear from the very outset: Europe will stand with Ukraine and support Ukraine every step of the way,” she said.
Russia must pay a price for this war
By Jerome Starkey, Defence Editor
DONALD Trump is not a details man. He wants a deal at any price (as long as he is not paying for it) to end the war in Ukraine.
He doesn’t seem to care if it hobbles Ukraine, humiliates Europe and rewards Russian aggression.
He doesn’t seem to care if it is drafted by Russia, tramples on Nato and encourages tyrants everywhere to take neighbouring land by force. (Taiwan beware).
Those are details. Minor details. Unless, of course, you are Europe or Ukraine. In which case they are fundamental.
Any sane person who understands war wants a ceasefire yesterday.
But how this war ends matters. Both for Ukraine’s survival and to avoid future war in Europe.
Russia must be deterred. It must pay a price for this war and know the bill for the next would be higher.
We should take it with a pinch of salt when US officials say the deal is done, save for some “minor details”.
These minor details are “major issues” in the words of Finland’s President Alex Stubb. President Zelensky said yesterday there is still “much work” to do.
In fact, these minor details are 44,000 square miles – some 20 per cent of Ukraine’s territory – an area the size of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland combined.
They are questions like who controls Crimea, the Donbas and occupied Zaporizhzia and Kherson.
They are questions like who guarantees Ukraine’s security against a third Russian invasion.
Ukraine wants peace more than anyone. But not peace at any price. It wants a peace that lasts. Russia wants a conquest.
It comes as a Russian drone attack on the southern Ukrainian region of Zaporizhzhia overnight left more than a dozen wounded and damaged tens of homes.
The mass drone strikes had expanded nationwide in Ukraine, which also saw a young mother’s leg blown off on Wednesday.
Putin’s attack left the mother in a serious condition as her daughter was ‘psychologically’ traumatised from the blast.
In a sickening strike in Dnipro, Ukraine that was caught on video, a blazing piece of debris crashed to the ground, leaving the mother without a leg and the child with “severe” shrapnel wounds.
The video shows the moments after collision, where neighbours crowd around the mother and daughter, desperately trying to help before paramedics arrived.
The pair had been in the garden of their home when the city was hit by Russian forces, targeting the Samarivskyi district.
The 21-year-old mother was later rushed to hospital, where she remains in a serious condition.
The attacks continue as Trump scrapped his own Thanksgiving deadline, dispatching top envoys on a high-stakes dash to Moscow and Kyiv.
The US President claimed Ukraine was also pleased with how talks were moving and made clear his clock was no longer ticking.
CRITTERS & JITTERS
Vogue & Spencer insist marriage is strong – why do pals think otherwise?
BLAZE HORROR
Hong Kong inferno kills at least 44 as three arrested for manslaughter
“The deadline for me is when it’s over. And I think everybody’s tired of fighting at this moment,” he added.
Despite his bold statements, Russian strikes are expected to continue to batter Ukraine.