Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed a positive assessment following a nearly hour-long conversation with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Zelensky stated that the call, held on Thursday, yielded "new ideas in terms of formats, meetings, and timing on how to bring a real peace closer" to ending the Russia-Ukraine war. This conversation occurred a day after Zelensky detailed an updated 20-point peace plan, which had been agreed upon by US and Ukrainian envoys in Florida, with both sides calling the Miami talks productive despite no immediate breakthrough.

During the call, President Zelensky requested Witkoff and Kushner to convey Christmas greetings to US President Donald Trump and his family, highlighting the US involvement in the ongoing diplomatic efforts. Trump and his representatives have been engaged in discussions with both Ukraine and Russia in a bid to broker a resolution to the conflict, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Zelensky commended the "good ideas" put forth by Witkoff and Kushner, describing the day as "active" for Ukraine's diplomacy. He acknowledged that "work is still to be done on sensitive issues" but conveyed confidence, stating that "together with the American team, we understand how to put all of this in place." Ukraine's top negotiator and security official, Rustem Umerov, is slated to continue discussions with the American team.

The newly agreed 20-point peace plan is considered an evolution of an initial draft prepared by Witkoff several weeks prior. The earlier draft had been widely perceived by Kyiv and its European allies as heavily favoring Russia's pre-invasion maximalist demands, which would have amounted to a de facto capitulation of Ukraine. Zelensky clarified the updated proposal on Wednesday, indicating it now offers Russia the potential withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the eastern regions and the subsequent establishment of a demilitarised zone. This aligns with reports that Zelensky is moving towards demilitarised zones in the latest peace plan for Ukraine. Furthermore, the plan incorporates robust security guarantees from the US, NATO, and European partners, promising a coordinated military response should Russia initiate another invasion of Ukraine. For the crucial industrial eastern Donetsk region, Zelensky proposed a "free economic zone" as a potential solution, emphasizing that any area from which Ukrainian troops withdraw would necessarily have to be policed by Ukraine.

Despite diplomatic advancements, significant challenges persist, particularly concerning the Donbas region. Moscow currently controls approximately 75% of Donetsk and about 99% of neighboring Luhansk, collectively known as Donbas. President Zelensky has been under considerable pressure from Trump to concede the entirety of Donbas to Russia during the Washington-led peace negotiations. However, the Ukrainian leader has consistently rejected any territorial concessions, instead demanding iron-clad security guarantees for Ukraine in any eventual settlement. Russian President Vladimir Putin has, for his part, repeatedly warned that Ukrainian troops must depart Donbas or Russia will forcibly seize it.

The Kremlin's reaction to the latest proposals was conveyed on Thursday by spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who stated that Moscow is studying the materials brought back from the US by Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev. Peskov affirmed, "We are examining this material, and depending on the decisions made by the head of state, we will continue our communication with the Americans."

Concurrently with these diplomatic overtures, fighting continues unabated on the ground. On Thursday, the Ukrainian military reported striking the Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery in Russia's southern Rostov region with cruise missiles. This refinery, situated near the Ukrainian border, is vital for supplying fuel to Russian military operations in occupied eastern Ukraine. The Russian defense ministry, for its part, announced that its forces had secured control of the settlement of Sviato-Pokrovske in the Donetsk region. Earlier in the week, Ukrainian troops had retreated from the embattled eastern town of Siversk, a move that brings Russian forces closer to the "fortress belt" cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, which remain under Ukrainian control in the Donetsk region. Ukraine also reported that border villagers have been abducted and taken to Russia amidst the ongoing conflict.