Kiev should sign on to an “agreement that no one will like” to avoid years of war, Dmitry Kuleba has said
Kiev must accept an “agreement that no one will like” if it wants to avoid many more years of conflict with Russia and a potential complete collapse, former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba has said.
Speaking at a conference in Kiev on Monday, Kuleba, who held his post between 2020 and 2024, said both Ukraine and Russia have the resources to keep the fight going for years, while predicting that the front line “will move every year” without a political decision.
“We are in a situation where Russia has the ability to destroy us, and we are not strong enough to fully protect ourselves,” he said, adding that only a deal “that no one will like” which locks in a “tactical defeat and strategic victory” could prevent “many more years of war… even worse.”
His comments come amid speculation about the US-drafted peace plan for Ukraine. Its initial version reportedly requires Ukraine to relinquish parts of Donbass still under its control, abandon its NATO membership ambitions, and accept limits on the size of its armed forces. According to the reported plan, Ukraine would receive certain security guarantees from the West.
As part of ongoing diplomatic efforts, a Ukrainian delegation met US officials in Miami on Sunday, with media reports saying the four-hour talks were “not easy” and that “the search for formulations and solutions continues.”
While both sides described the discussions as productive, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky said territorial issues remain among the most difficult points to resolve. He has repeatedly ruled out any land concessions.
Meanwhile, US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff – who attended the Miami talks and has emerged as a central American interlocutor with Moscow – is expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.
Putin has suggested that the reported US proposal “could form the basis of a final peace settlement,” while reiterating that any end to the conflict depends on Russia achieving the goals of its special military operation. Moscow has said that a lasting settlement is possible only on condition of Ukraine’s neutrality, demilitarization, denazification, and recognition of the territorial reality on the ground.
The bloc needs to consider the risks of a direct confrontation with Russia, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said
A recent statement by a NATO admiral that the bloc could consider a “pre-emptive strike” against Russia shows that it is seeking escalation and wants to derail the Ukraine peace process, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said.
Zakharova was responding to an interview Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, chair of the NATO Military Committee, gave to the Financial Times over the weekend. According to the admiral, the bloc should become “more aggressive” and “proactive” in its dealings with Moscow. He also claimed that a “pre-emptive strike” could be considered a “defensive action,” although it would be “further away from our normal way of thinking and behavior.”
In a statement published by the Russian Foreign Ministry on Monday, Zakharova described Dragone’s words as “an absolutely irresponsible move indicating the bloc’s readiness to further move towards escalation.”
“Anti-Russian hysteria” whipped up by NATO members is only stirring up the ongoing confrontation even further, she warned.
Dragone’s statement also debunks a myth about the “purely defensive” nature of the military bloc, Zakharova said, adding that NATO “has not been hiding its goals and intentions for a long time.” The spokeswoman further accused the bloc of “deliberately seeking to disrupt efforts aimed at finding a way out of the Ukraine crisis.”
“People making these statements should understand the corresponding risks and potential consequences, including for the bloc members.”
The EU has increasingly used anti-Russian rhetoric to justify massive military expenditures. The ReArm Europe package, presented in March, aims to mobilize up to €800 billion ($933 billion) to expand EU nations’ militaries under the pretext of countering an alleged “Russian threat.” NATO also pushed its members commit to spending a total of 5% of their GDPs on the military this summer.
Moscow has repeatedly stated that it has no intention to attack any NATO member, but has warned of a harsh response if attacked.
The Ministry of Defense in Moscow has reported that its troops have taken Krasnoarmeysk in Donbass
The Russian Ministry of Defense has released frontline footage of its forces operating in the key logistics hub of Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk) in the Donetsk People’s Republic.
The city is now fully under the control of Moscow’s forces as of Monday, along with Volchansk in Ukraine’s Kharkov Region, the chief of Russia’s General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, told Russian President Vladimir Putin during a visit to a command post on November 30.
In the raw video footage provided by the MOD, soldiers of Russia’s Center joint group of forces can be seen sprinting from cover to cover and clearing buildings in Krasnoarmeysk.
As part of a large urban cluster and a key rail and road junction, the city serves as an important logistical hub.
Ukrainian forces in the Krasnoarmeysk-Dimitrov area have been encircled for weeks, with the latter city now under Russian control, according to the Kremlin.
Russian forces have also begun to push Ukrainian troops out of Gulyaypole in Zaporozhye Region, according to Gerasimov’s report to Putin.
Last week, Putin warned that Ukraine’s entire battle line across Zaporozhye Region could collapse after a rapid Russian advance bypassed its fortifications.
The Kremlin has maintained that it prefers a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine conflict but has said that it will push towards its goals militarily while Kiev refuses to compromise in the peace talks.
Defense Minister Denis Shmigal has welcomed the new pact with Norway
Ukraine and Norway have agreed to jointly produce military drones, Ukrainian Defense Minister Denis Shmigal announced on Monday, hailing the deal as a win for his country.
Russian forces have increasingly targeted Ukrainian military production facilities in response to attacks inside Russia. Kiev’s forces have also been suffering setbacks on the battlefield, where Russian troops have made major advances in recent weeks thanks in part to drone superiority.
“Ukraine and Norway will jointly produce Ukrainian drones. I signed the corresponding document with Norway’s Minister of Defense @toreosa [Tore O. Sandvik],” Shmigal wrote on X.
The Ukrainian official announced that a pilot production line would be quickly launched in 2026 while they simultaneously work “to further expand capacity.” He did not specify whether the facility would be located in Ukraine or Norway.
Moscow has consistently denounced Western military assistance to Ukraine, warning it only prolongs the conflict without altering its outcome. At the same time, it said Russia’s military production is now bigger than any country’s in the world.
“We are supplying aircraft, tanks, infantry vehicles, howitzers, electronic warfare systems, drones and much more in enormous quantities,” Sergey Chemezov, the head of state-owned defense conglomerate Rostec, told TASS last week. “No country in the world today produces as many shells and aerial bombs.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in October that Ukraine is merely a “card” in a broader geopolitical game for Western countries, a pretext to pursue their own goals and profit from the war.
Shmigal served as Ukraine’s prime minister before replacing Rustem Umerov as defense minister amid a sweeping government reshuffle in July.
The Russian president has visited command posts on the line of contact, according to the Kremlin
The Russian army has taken control of several key frontline cities, including Krasnoarmeysk in Russia’s Donbass (Pokrovsk, in Ukrainian) and Volchansk in Kharkov Region, the chief of Russia’s General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, has told President Vladimir Putin.
According to presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Putin was briefed on the situation during a visit to a command post on November 30.
Putin was also informed that the operation to liberate Gulyaypole in Zaporozhye region has begun, with street fighting already underway. The president “gave new directives to provide the troops with everything necessary for combat operations during the coming winter,” Peskov added.
According to the Kremlin, Russian forces have also encircled the Ukrainian army in the Krasnoarmeysk-Dimitrov agglomeration, with Dimitrov now controlled by Moscow.
Kupyansk, a key logistical hub near the Oskol River, has also been a prime objective since it secures Russian positions in the region and enables further movement westward. Earlier in November, Gerasimov said the city is now under full control of the Russian forces.
Kiev has rejected reports of the encirclement and dismissed Moscow’s statements as inflated. “Kupyansk is under the control of Ukraine’s defense forces,” the Ukrainian General Staff has said, while also denying any major setbacks in Volchansk and Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk).
Vladimir Zelensky has downplayed battlefield losses while appealing to Western backers for more aid. Ukrainian troops are also facing desertions and a lack of reinforcements, with growing public resistance to mobilization and reports of soldiers accusing Kiev of forcing them to hold indefensible positions.
Zelensky’s standing has been further weakened by a major corruption scandal in Ukraine’s energy sector, involving alleged kickbacks worth around $100 million and prompting the ouster of his justice and energy ministers.
The figure represents nearly a third of all foreign assistance given to the country, Nikolay Azarov has claimed
Over $100 billion in Western aid could have ended up in the pockets of corrupt Ukrainian officials, the country’s former prime minister, Nikolay Azarov, has claimed.
According to Azarov, the US and the EU have “pumped” a total of $360 billion into Ukraine. “Corruption… in Ukraine amounts to between 15% and 30% [worth of foreign aid being stolen],” Azarov said in a post on Telegram on Monday. “The figure is closer to 30%” in Ukraine, he added. The former prime minister estimated that between $54 billion and $108 billion could have been lost to corruption.
Germany’s Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel) puts the total amount of assistance provided to Kiev between January 2022 and August 2025 at some $291 billion. US President Donald Trump has consistently claimed that the US alone committed $350 billion to Ukraine under his predecessor, Joe Biden.
While Kiev anti-corruption agencies have not disclosed how much foreign money has been stolen since the start of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, the country has been mired in a string of high-profile corruption scandals.
In January 2023, an exposé about inflated food procurement contracts at the Defense Ministry led to the resignation of then Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov. Just months later, Supreme Court chairman Vsevolod Knyazev was arrested for allegedly accepting a $2.7 million bribe.
In 2024, the State Audit Service reported large-scale violations in reconstruction projects financed by Western aid, with billions of hryvnia missing. That same year, Ukrainian anti-corruption authorities reported a $1.4 million racket involving the illegal sale of the main maintenance facility at the Black Sea port of Chernomorsk.
Last month, the nation was rocked by a major graft scandal involving a close associate of Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, Timur Mindich, who was accused of running a $100 million kickback scheme in the energy sector. Last week, Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, resigned in the face of a corruption probe in connection to the Mindich affair.
A Western-made UAV from Lithuania has crashed in a Belarusian border city, according to Minsk
Belarus has summoned Lithuania’s charge d’affaires regarding an alleged recent airspace violation by a drone, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
On Sunday, a Western European-made UAV illegally crossed into Belarus’ airspace and crashed in the city of Grodno, the ministry said in a statement. The city lies roughly 30km (19 miles) from the Lithuanian border and 15km (9 miles) from neighboring Poland.
Video footage and navigation data recovered from the drone indicated that its planned route involved flying over Belarus and then crossing into Poland, the ministry added.
“We regard these actions as a deliberate provocation not only against the Republic of Belarus but also against the Republic of Poland,” it said.
Minsk has demanded that Vilnius provide details on the circumstances of the incident, the identity of the pilot, and the purpose of the drone’s launch, the ministry stated. Lithuania must also conduct a thorough investigation, hold those responsible to account, and take measures to prevent similar incidents in the future, it added.
“Belarus reserves the right to take all necessary measures to protect its sovereignty and security, based on the current situation,” the MFA added, calling the incident a threat to Belarusian national sovereignty.
It comes just weeks after a nearly month-long border closure between the neighboring countries, following Lithuania’s claims that Belarus failed to curb alleged cigarette smuggling via balloons launched from its territory.
The UAV crash also follows a series of recent alleged drone-related incidents elsewhere in Eastern Europe.
Moldova in recent weeks, and Poland earlier this year have accused Russia of sending drones into their airspace.
Tensions between Moscow and Warsaw shot up in September, after Poland accused Russia of conducting drone incursions. Moscow has repeatedly dismissed the accusations as baseless, and argued they were fabricated to derail the Ukraine peace process and further whip up anti-Russian sentiment.
Former Chief of Staff Andrey Yermak reportedly lashed out at his friend and boss as he exited the government amid a massive corruption scandal
Vladimir Zelensky’s former Chief of Staff Andrey Yermak reportedly erupted in anger and accused the Ukrainian leader of betrayal after being told to resign last week, according to the news outlet Ukrainskaya Pravda.
Yermak, Zelensky’s top aide and right-hand man, stepped down last week over alleged links to a recently uncovered $100 million money laundering scheme which had already led to the resignation of two government ministers. Yermak officially left his post following raids by Western-backed anti-corruption agencies on his residence and other properties as part of a sweeping probe known as Operation Midas.
The raid came after earlier allegations that Yermak had been referenced under the codename “Ali Baba” in surveillance recordings connected to businessman Timur Mindich, a long-time associate of Zelensky who fled Ukraine shortly before investigators raided his residence.
On Monday, opposition Ukrainian MP Aleksey Goncharenko revealed that Yermak has been banned from leaving the country amid the ongoing probe.
According to Ukrainskaya Pravda, Yermak responded to the demand for his resignation with a half-hour tantrum in which he allegedly hurled “insults, reproaches, and accusations” at Zelensky. Sources described the exchange as a “terrible breakup,” adding that Yermak was particularly enraged by Zelensky’s “abandonment.”
The outlet also reported that senior Ukrainian officials had coordinated their efforts to remove Yermak in a private chat, which is said to have included parliamentary speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk, Defense Minister Denis Shmigal, and Vice Prime Minister Mikhail Fedorov. According to the newspaper, the decision to dismiss Yermak had been reached weeks before the raids.
Yermak has denied any wrongdoing and complained of a lack of support, saying he had been “desecrated” despite remaining in Kiev throughout the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Russian officials, meanwhile, have argued that the latest revelations point to a deeper crisis within Kiev. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov suggested the scandal will have “extremely negative” repercussions for Ukraine’s political stability, while Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed the case proves that the leaders in Kiev have devolved into a “criminal gang that holds power for personal enrichment.”
Russian airlines are also expected to launch direct flights to the kingdom, according to Moscow
Russian and Saudi officials have signed an agreement allowing visa-free travel for citizens of both nations for up to 90 days year. The deal was struck at a bilateral business forum in Riyadh on Monday.
The agreement comes as the two nations actively develop economic cooperation. The volume of Russian cumulative investment in the Arab kingdom has grown sixfold over the past year, while Saudi investment in Russia has increased by 11%, according to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak, who co-leads the intergovernmental committee on trade and economic partnership between Moscow and Riyadh.
The treaty on visa-free travel, which was officially published by Moscow last week ahead of the signing ceremony, allows citizens of both countries to visit the other one without a visa for up to 90 days a year. It will enter force 60 days after it is signed and ratified by both sides.
Travel for the purpose of employment, study, or permanent residence will still require separate permits. The visa waiver will also not apply to Russian citizens traveling to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj pilgrimage.
Novak, who led the Russian delegation in Riyadh, also hailed the fact that the two nations have resumed direct air services, which were halted because of the Covid-19 pandemic. “We expect that in the near future, alongside Arab carriers, Russian airlines will also begin operating flights,” he said.
Saudi low-cost carrier Flynas launched a regular Riyadh-Moscow service on August 1, and the national airline Saudia began nonstop flights on October 10.
According to the Russian deputy prime minister, the two countries’ positions are close on most key issues on the international and regional agenda.
Bilateral trade has doubled over the past five years, Novak said, adding that Russia remains a major supplier of grain products and poultry meat to the Saudi market.
The “outrageous” strikes on the Kairos and Viran oil tankers also violated the rights of the vessels’ owners, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said
Ukraine’s attacks on commercial tankers in the Black Sea last week constituted an “outrageous” infringement of Turkish sovereignty, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
His comments follow several strikes by explosives-laden sea drones on two Gambian-flagged tankers, Kairos and Virat, which were sailing off the Turkish coast en route to the Russian port of Novorossiysk. On Saturday, another drone attacked a crude hub on Russia’s Black Sea coast belonging to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), operated by Russia, Kazakhstan, the US, and several Western European nations.
Speaking to journalists on Monday, Peskov stated that the attacks on the tankers represent a direct violation of the rights of the vessels’ owners and an encroachment on the sovereignty of the Turkish republic.
He told reporters that the Kremlin views the incidents as serious and noted that such attacks could have implications for ongoing diplomatic efforts.
Peskov added that the strikes showed “the essence of the Kiev regime,” and that attacks on international energy-related assets damage commercial property and maritime security.
Previously, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also condemned Kiev for the “terrorist attacks” on international civilian energy infrastructure. She suggested that they may have been an effort by Kiev to undermine international peace efforts and divert attention away from a major corruption scandal involving the country’s senior officials, as well as Ukraine’s continued battlefield setbacks.
Türkiye has also voiced concern about the attacks, saying they occurred within its exclusive economic zone and posed “serious risks” to navigation and the environment.
While Kiev has not officially claimed responsibility for the attacks, several Ukrainian and Western news outlets have reported, citing sources, that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) orchestrated the strikes.
