Russia vowed to retaliate on Monday Ukraine after he reported that about 100 drones attacked one of President Vladimir Putin's residences, likely causing damage President Donald Trump efforts to end nearly four years of war.
“Such reckless actions will not go unanswered. The targets of retaliatory strikes and the timing of their infliction by the Russian armed forces have been determined,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, without specifying the details of the alleged shelling in the Novgorod region.
Shortly after, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the claims a lie aimed at jeopardizing the negotiations. Russia will most likely take advantage alleged attack strike government buildings in Kyiv, he added.
NBC News has reached out to the White House for comment. But when the news came out, This was stated by White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt. in a post on X that Trump “had a positive conversation with President Putin regarding Ukraine.”
On Sunday, Trump was unusually optimistic about the peace process as he stood next to Zelensky at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida. The Kremlin on Monday agreed with Trump's assessment that negotiations to end the war are in the final stages, although the Kremlin stands by its position. strict territorial requirements.
After almost three hours behind closed doors On Sunday, Trump and Zelensky said they were “very close” to a deal and “90%” on track to achieve it. But it is the remaining “one or two very pressing issues” that will decide whether an agreement can be found between Kiev and Moscow, Trump said.
Answering questions from reporters in a WhatsApp chat on Monday, Zelensky outlined one key area where there does appear to be progress.
The Ukrainian leader said Trump was now offering Kyiv legally binding security guarantees that would last for 15 years, although he had asked for them to remain in place for up to half a century.
“I told him that we have been at war for almost 15 years, and therefore we would really like the guarantees to be longer,” Zelensky said, referring to Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014 and support for pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine ahead of a full-scale invasion in 2022.
He said Trump had signaled he would consider longer guarantees, adding that they included how the peace deal would be monitored as well as the “presence” of partners.
But while Ukraine appeared positive about the proposal, designed to guarantee its security from future Russian aggression, few details were made public and it was unclear how Russia would view the proposal.
Zelensky also made it clear that the fate of the key territory remains unresolved.
Control over the eastern region of Donbass and Zaporozhye NPP remain major stumbling blocks to Trump's 20-point peace plan, versions original US proposal this was changed over several weeks of intense diplomacy.
Ukraine still controls parts of the Donbass and has vowed it will not give up the land, but Russia wants the entire region – a key demand on which Putin has shown no desire to compromise. The Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, is occupied by Russia, but each side wants control over it as part of a deal.
U.S. negotiators had previously floated the concept of creating a “free economic zone” in the Donbass, but Zelensky said Monday that there is “no detailed concept yet” of how that would work and that any such agreement would have to be consulted with Ukrainian society.
In fact, he said the entire 20-point peace plan should be put to a referendum in Ukraine, which he said would require a ceasefire of at least 60 days.
Moscow has ruled out agreeing to any temporary ceasefire, insisting it is only interested in a permanent peace deal – a position Trump said Sunday he understands.
