Zelensky hails ‘very good’ talks with Trump envoys as Ukraine steps up strikes; Poland scrambles jets
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he held “very good” talks with U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff focused on ending Russia’s “brutal” war, as Kyiv intensified long-range strikes on Russia’s energy infrastructure and Poland intercepted a Russian reconnaissance aircraft over the Baltic Sea.
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“We discussed certain substantive details of the ongoing work,” Zelensky said in a social media post, adding, “There are good ideas that can work toward a shared outcome and the lasting peace.” He thanked the envoys for a “constructive approach” and said Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov would continue discussions with them.
Zelensky’s remarks followed his disclosure that Ukraine had secured limited concessions in the latest version of a U.S.-led draft plan to end the invasion. The 20-point framework, agreed by U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators, is under review by Russia. Zelensky acknowledged “some points” he did not like but said Kyiv succeeded in removing immediate requirements for Ukraine to withdraw from the Donetsk region or to recognize Russian control of occupied territory.
Moscow has previously shown no willingness to abandon its demand for a full Ukrainian withdrawal from the east. Still, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said there was “slow but steady progress” in talks with the United States on a settlement, alleging that Western European countries were trying to torpedo the process and suggesting Washington should counter such moves.
Even as diplomatic contacts flicker, the conflict escalated on the ground. Ukraine’s military said it used British-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles and domestically produced long-range drones to strike multiple Russian oil and gas facilities. The General Staff reported that the Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery in Russia’s Rostov region was hit, calling it one of southern Russia’s largest suppliers of diesel and jet fuel to Russian troops.
“Multiple explosions were recorded. The target was hit,” the General Staff said on Telegram.
Separately, Ukraine’s SBU security service said long-range drones struck oil product tanks in the Russian port of Temryuk in the Krasnodar region and a gas processing plant in Orenburg, about 1,400 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. Regional authorities in Krasnodar said two tanks caught fire at Temryuk after a drone attack, with flames covering roughly 2,000 square meters. The General Staff also said Ukrainian troops hit a military airfield in the Russian city of Maikop in the republic of Adygea in the North Caucasus.
As the war nears its fourth year and peace efforts remain elusive, both Ukraine and Russia have intensified drone and missile strikes on energy infrastructure. Kyiv has increasingly targeted Russian refineries and fuel depots in an effort to curtail Moscow’s oil revenues, a key source of war funding.
Regional tensions flared farther west. Poland said it scrambled fighter jets to intercept and escort a Russian reconnaissance aircraft flying near Polish airspace over the Baltic Sea. “This morning, over the international waters of the Baltic Sea, Polish fighter jets intercepted, visually identified, and escorted from their area of responsibility a Russian reconnaissance aircraft flying near the borders of Polish airspace,” the Polish army said.
Poland’s National Security Bureau also reported that several dozen objects entered from Belarus overnight; four detected so far were likely smuggling balloons. The bureau warned that “the mass nature of the violation of Polish airspace,” its timing during the holiday season, and similar incidents in Lithuania could indicate “a provocation disguised as a smuggling operation.” The Polish army temporarily closed part of the airspace over the Podlaskie region, which borders Belarus, to civilian traffic.
Countries on NATO’s eastern flank have been on heightened alert since September, when three Russian military jets violated Estonia’s airspace for 12 minutes, days after more than 20 Russian drones reportedly entered Polish airspace. Lithuania has repeatedly reported “smuggler balloons” launched from Belarus disrupting air traffic and closing Vilnius airport; Belarus has denied responsibility.
With Washington, Kyiv and Moscow each signaling guarded movement but starkly different endgames, Ukraine’s simultaneous push on the battlefield and at the negotiating table underscores the fragile, uneven path toward any potential settlement.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
