CloseUkrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has outlined a new peace plan that includes creating demilitarised or free economic zones in eastern Ukraine as a possible route to ending the war.
The proposal offers Kyiv Nato-style security guarantees while insisting any demilitarised zones remain under Ukrainian administration and policing.
Meanwhile, at least three people died in an explosion in southern Moscow at the site where a Russian general was killed earlier this week.
Russian authorities said two police officers were among those found dead. The other was thought to have been a bystander.
Earlier, Ukraine’s military said its forces had pulled out of the embattled eastern town of Siversk near Bakhmut.
“The invaders were able to advance due to a significant numerical advantage and constant pressure from small assault groups in difficult weather conditions," the General Staff said.
Siversk had a pre-war population of 10,000. Its capture by Russia puts a dent in the “fortress belt” of major Donbas towns still held by Ukraine.
Russia continues to push forward in Ukraine after rejecting a Christmas truce, launching a massive drone and missile attack early on Tuesday.
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Zelensky floats updated peace plan proposing demilitarised zones
Volodymyr Zelensky has outlined an updated peace plan that could see Ukrainian troops withdraw from eastern areas, which would then be declared demilitarised zones. Russia is expected to respond after talks with the US.
Zelensky described the 20-point proposal agreed with US envoys as “the main framework for ending the war”.
It also includes security guarantees from the US, Nato and Europe to deter any future Russian invasion.
On eastern Donbas, Zelensky said creating a “free economic zone” was among the options under discussion.
Maroosha Muzaffar25 December 2025 03:39
War heroes star in Ukraine's own 'Dancing with the Stars'
Ukraine's own 'Dancing with the Stars' is back on for a special episode with wartime heroes
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Fighting continues for Pokrovsk in major battle in Ukraine's east
Ukraine's military said its forces were keeping up pressure on Pokrovsk and would continue trying to sever logistics for Russian troops inside.
Fighting is still raging around the former eastern logistics hub, where Ukrainian forces said this month they had fended off an unusually large Russian mechanised attack.
The Ukrainian military's Operation Task Force East unit, which reports regularly on its defence of Pokrovsk, said Ukrainian forces remained in control of the northern part of the largely destroyed city.
Jane Dalton25 December 2025 01:00
Russian strikes blamed for oil disaster for birds
Dozens of birds in Odesa, on the Ukraine coast, fell victim to an oil spill which the regional governor Oleh Kiper said was caused by Russian strikes last week that damaged sunflower oil storage tanks in Pivdennyi port.
The birds squawk indignantly as volunteers scrub them clean of oil from bill to toe.
Experts say the worst affected are two elegant species – the great crested grebe and the horned grebe.
"The great crested grebe are waterfowl that are especially vulnerable to this kind of contamination, such as oil," said zoo director Ihor Biliakov said outside a rescue point.
Emergency crews installed floating barriers and deployed specialised vessels to contain the spill, while the port’s channel was temporarily closed, its administration said.
Jane Dalton24 December 2025 23:50
Pro-Russian hackers claim cyberattack on French postal service
Pro-Russian hackers claim cyberattack on French postal service
French prosecutors say a pro-Russian hacking group has claimed responsibility for a major cyberattack on France’s national postal serviceJane Dalton24 December 2025 22:35
Russia claims to down 16 Ukrainian drones
Russian air defence units downed 16 Moscow-bound Ukrainian drones throughout the day on Wednesday, Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin says.
Sobyanin, in a series of posts on Telegram, said the drones were repelled over about 17 hours.
Emergency crews were “examining fragments where they hit the ground” but no damage was reported.
Two of the four major airports servicing the capital limited flights for a time, Russia's civil aviation authority said.
Jane Dalton24 December 2025 21:30
Zelensky open to withdrawing troops for demilitarised zone – full report
Zelensky open to withdrawing troops for a demilitarised zone in new peace plan
Zelensky stresses most sensitive issues of latest peace plan require meeting with leaders despite progress in talksJane Dalton24 December 2025 20:31
Zelensky makes counter-proposal on nuclear plant
Ukraine’s President Zelensky has put counter-proposals on the future of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant to American officials after negotiators from Ukraine and the US hammered out a 20-point plan in Florida to try to end the war.
The US has proposed creating a consortium with Ukraine and Russia on the plant in which each party would have an equal stake.
Mr Zelensky countered with a proposal for a joint venture between the US and Ukraine, in which the Americans would be able to decide how to distribute their share, including giving some of it to Russia.
He acknowledged that the US had not yet accepted Ukraine's counter-proposals.
"But we have significantly brought most of the positions closer together," Mr Zelensky said. "In principle, all other consensus in this agreement has been found between us and them."
Jane Dalton24 December 2025 19:30
Recap: Zelensky prepared to withdraw Donbas troops under 20-point plan
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, says he would be willing to withdraw troops from the country's eastern industrial heartland if Russia also pulled back and the area became a demilitarised, free economic zone monitored by international forces.
The proposal, which would address one of the major obstacles to ending Russia's war, must also be put a referendum.
A similar arrangement could be possible for the area around the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which is under Russian control, President Zelensky said.
He described a 20-point overarching plan that negotiators from Ukraine and the US hammered out in Florida in recent days, although he said that many details were still being worked out.
Jane Dalton24 December 2025 18:30
Ukraine official claims military agency behind Moscow explosion
An official from Ukraine's military intelligence, known as GUR, has told the Associated Press that the attack in which two Moscow police officers were killed had been carried out as part of an agency operation.
Another agency official said the officers had taken part in Russia's war in Ukraine, without providing details.
