A Kremlin-friendly reception greeted the White House’s new national security strategy as Russia pressed on with strikes in Ukraine that claimed at least four lives. In Kyiv, President Donald Trump asserted on Sunday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not yet signed off on a U.S.-drafted peace proposal intended to end the Russia-Ukraine war. After three days of negotiations between U.S. and Ukrainian officials aimed at narrowing gaps in the American plan, Trump told reporters during an event associated with the Kennedy Center Honors that Zelenskyy hasn’t read the proposal, even though his team supports it. “I’m a little disappointed that President Zelenskyy hasn't yet reviewed the proposal, which his people like but he hasn’t,” Trump said. He added that while Russia might be comfortable with the plan, Zelenskyy’s stance remains uncertain, noting his own impression that Zelenskyy isn’t ready despite broad backing from his circle.
Putin has not publicly endorsed the White House framework. Last week, he described elements of Trump’s plan as unworkable, even though the initial draft largely favored Moscow.
The situation has been marked by a fluctuating dynamic between Trump and Zelenskyy since Trump’s reelection bid, during which he questioned the usefulness of U.S. funding for the war and urged Kyiv to concede territory to Russia to help end a conflict now stretching into its fourth year.
Zelenskyy stated on Saturday that he had a substantive phone exchange with American officials involved in the Florida talks with Ukraine’s delegation. He tweeted that Kyiv remains committed to good-faith engagement with the United States to pursue genuine peace.
The White House released a national security strategy on Friday that outlines a shift toward stabilizing ties with Moscow and framing ending the war as a key U.S. objective to restore strategic balance. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov welcomed the document on Sunday, telling Russia’s Tass news agency that the strategy largely aligns with Moscow’s views. He pointed to calls for reduced confrontation and increased dialogue as grounds for optimism about future cooperation on Ukraine’s settlement.
At the Reagan National Defense Forum on Saturday, Keith Kellogg, Trump’s outgoing envoy for Ukraine, described efforts to broker peace as being at the “last 10 meters.” He emphasized that any deal hinges on two remaining issues: Donbas terrain negotiations and the status of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which is currently under Russian control and has been idled, raising concerns about cooling and safety.
Kellogg, who will depart his post in January, did not attend the Florida talks.
Meanwhile, leaders from the United Kingdom, France, and Germany were scheduled to meet Zelenskyy in London on Monday.
Across Ukraine, Russian missiles, drones, and shelling overnight and into Sunday killed at least four people. In Chernihiv, a drone attack claimed a life Saturday night, while a separate strike on infrastructure in Kremenchuk caused outages in power and water. The city hosts a major oil refinery and is a regional industrial hub. Kyiv and its Western partners say Moscow aims to cripple Ukraine’s power grid to deprive civilians of heat, light, and water for a fourth winter, a tactic Ukraine calls weaponizing winter.
In Kharkiv, three people were killed and ten wounded in renewed shelling by Russian forces on Sunday, according to the regional prosecutor’s office.
AP reporters Darlene Superville and Aamer Madhani contributed from Washington.
For ongoing coverage of the Ukraine war, follow AP’s reporting at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
