Russian heating and power plant back on line after Ukrainian drone attack
A heating and power plant in Russia’s Moscow region has resumed operations after shutting down due to a fire caused by a Ukrainian drone strike, regional governor Andrei Vorobyov said.
The attack on Sunday on the facility in Shatura, a town of about 33,000, sparked a major blaze and cut heating for residents as night temperatures hovered around freezing. It marked one of Kyiv’s most significant strikes to date on a power station deep inside Russia.
Vorobyov said authorities were still reconnecting apartment blocks and social facilities to the heating system, a process that will take several more hours.
Trump, Xi spoke to discuss trade, Taiwan and Ukraine, US and Chinese officials say
President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke by phone on Monday to discuss trade, Taiwan and Ukraine, according to the White House and Chinese officials.
Kremlin says European counter-proposal for Ukraine peace does not work for Russia
The Kremlin said Monday that a European counter-proposal to a US 28-point peace plan for Ukraine was not constructive and that it simply did not work for Moscow.
“The European plan, at first glance … is completely unconstructive and does not work for us,” Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters in Moscow.
President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that US proposals for peace in Ukraine could be the basis of a resolution of the conflict but that if Kyiv turned down the plan then Russian forces would advance further.
Ushakov said that “not all, but many provisions of this (US) plan seem quite acceptable to us”. He added that some would require more detailed discussion however.
Ukraine strives to avoid being ‘forced into an unjust peace’
Ukraine is striving to avoid being “forced into an unjust peace” by a US-backed peace plan, says FRANCE 24’s correspondent Gulliver Cragg, as discussions between Ukraine, the US and Europe conclude in Geneva.
Starlink’s direct-to-cell service launches in Ukraine in European first
Ukraine’s largest mobile operator Kyivstar has become the first in Europe to launch Starlink’s direct-to-cell satellite technology in a bid to keep millions connected amid wartime blackouts and disrupted infrastructure, the company said on Monday.
Kyivstar is initially offering SMS capabilities via the technology and plans to extend to voice and data next year, under a deal between Elon Musk’s Starlink and telecoms group Veon, the owner of Kyivstar.
The service would enable customers to remain connected on regular 4G smartphones during prolonged blackouts, in recently de-occupied territories where terrestrial networks could be damaged or under restoration, and during rescue and humanitarian missions.
“In Ukraine, staying connected means staying safe,” Kyivstar’s CEO Oleksandr Komarov said in a statement, adding that the service would enhance network resilience. Kyivstar serves about 22.5 million mobile customers in Ukraine.
Geneva negotiations brought ‘improvements’ in US peace plan for Ukraine
European officials said they were comforted by the outcome of weekend discussions in Geneva on US peace proposals for Ukraine.
Negotiations brought “improvements” in the plan notably in terms of security guarantees for Ukraine, says Anastasiya Shapochkina a geopolitics lecturer at Sciences Po university and the founder of Eastern Circles geoeconomics think tank.
UK PM Starmer says more work needed for ‘just and lasting peace’ in Ukraine
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said there was more work to do to establish the “just and lasting peace” which is needed in Ukraine, and a virtual coalition of the willing meeting will be held on Tuesday.
Ukraine’s peace plan negotiators returning to Kyiv, Zelensky says
Ukraine’s official delegation, which was in Geneva for talks on a peace plan, is returning to Kyiv, Zelensky said on Monday, adding that the next steps would be decided soon.
“I am expecting a full report this evening on the progress of the talks in Geneva and the principal emphases of our partners,” Zelenskiy said. “Based on these reports, we will determine the next steps and the timing. We will continue coordinating with Europe and other partners around the world.”
Putin and Erdogan discussed Ukraine peace plan by phone on Monday, Kremlin says
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan discussed a US proposal to end the war in Ukraine by phone on Monday, the Kremlin said.
“Vladimir Putin noted that these proposals, in the version in which we have reviewed them, are in line with the discussions at the Russian-American summit in Alaska and, in principle, can be used as the basis for a final peaceful settlement,” the Kremlin said, referring to an August meeting between Putin and US President Donald Trump.
“The Russian side’s interest in a political and diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian crisis was reaffirmed.”
Erdogan told Putin he was ready to support the process in every way and offered Istanbul – where the two sides held three rounds of peace talks earlier this year – as a venue, the Kremlin said.
Ukraine peace plan should strenghten European security, not undermine it, Polish PM says
No agreement regarding Ukraine can be allowed to undermine the security of Poland and Europe, on the contrary, it should strengthen it, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told journalists on the sidelines of an EU-African Union summit in Luanda on Monday.
The United States and Ukraine pressed on with talks in Switzerland on Monday to come up with a mutually acceptable peace plan, after agreeing to modify a US proposal that Kyiv and its European allies saw as a Kremlin wish list.
EU chiefs hail ‘new momentum’ in Ukraine peace talks
EU chiefs on Monday hailed progress towards a deal aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, but said there were still outstanding issues to resolve following urgent weekend efforts to revise a draft US plan.
“There is a new momentum in peace negotiations,” European Council President Antonio Costa said on the sidelines of a summit in Angola, after EU leaders held an emergency meeting on the issue.
“While work remains to be done, there is now a solid basis for moving forward,” added European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Germany’s Merz says Europe must consent to any peace plan to end Ukraine war
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Monday that Europe must consent to any plan to end the war in Ukraine after a US proposal was criticised for accepting Russia’s hardline demands.
“It is important to us that there can be no peace plan for Ukraine if we do not give our consent to issues that affect European interests and European sovereignty,” Merz told reporters in the Angolan capital Luanda.
Ukraine’s ‘coalition of the willing’ to hold a call Tuesday, EU Commission spokesperson says
The leaders of the countries comprising the “coalition of the willing” of allies supporting Ukraine will hold a video conference call on Tuesday to discuss peace talks, said the European Commission’s spokesperson.
“A lot of work remains to be done, regarding Ukraine peace proposals,” she told reporters during the daily briefing held in Brussels.
“Work continues on our side regarding reparations loan, and this is becoming more urgent,” she added.
Germany says ‘progress finally being made’ on Ukraine peace place after Geneva talks
Germany on Monday welcomed “progress” in efforts for a deal to end the war in Ukraine after talks in Geneva based on a US proposal that was criticised as favouring Russia.
“We view it very positively that progress is finally being made again and welcome the fact that things are moving forward,” government spokesman Sebastian Hille told reporters in Berlin.
Talk with US in Geneva ‘constructive’, says French FM
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Monday that the talks held in Geneva with the United States over Ukraine were “constructive and useful”.
“Work continues to create the conditions for a peace that respects the sovereignty of Ukraine and guarantees the interests and security of Europe,” Barrot said in a post on X.
The French minister added he has spoken about the talks with his European counterparts and Ukrainian foreign minister.
Ukrainians feel their ‘voices are being heard’ after Geneva talks
Following Sunday’s talks in Geneva, we’re hearing the “right noises” from Ukrainian officials, notes FRANCE 24’s Douglas Herbert.
Ukrainian, US and European officials met in the Swiss city Sunday after a US proposal to end Russia’s invasion was widely criticised as heeding to Moscow’s demands.
All sides claimed progress negotiations in Geneva, with a joint statement calling them “constructive.” Ukrainians now feel their “voices are being heard” – especially on their “red lines”, Herbert notes.
Those red lines include a non-recognition of the Russian illegal occupation of territories in Ukraine’s east and southeast, limits on its army size and on Ukraine’s “ability as a sovereign nation to seek whatever alliances it might want”, Herbert explains.
Russian air defences shoot down drone en route to Moscow, mayor says
Russian air defences downed a Ukrainian drone en route to Moscow on Monday, the city’s mayor said, briefly forcing the Russian capital’s Domodedovo airport to introduce temporary restrictions on all incoming and outgoing flights.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said in a statement that emergency services were working at the scene of the downed drone.
Moscow’s Zhukovsky airport had also introduced temporary flight restrictions, the country’s aviation regulator said, after Domodedovo’s restrictions were lifted.
United EU position is key to ‘good outcome’ from Ukraine peace moves, EU’s Costa says
A united and coordinated EU position is key to ensuring a “good outcome” from talks on ending the war in Ukraine, said European Council President Antonio Costa in a post on X.
Costa spoke with Zelensky ahead of an informal EU leaders’ meeting on Ukraine peace efforts, to get his assessment of the situation.
Russian forces capture village in Zaporizhzhia region, defence ministry says
The Russian defence ministry has said its forces had taken control of the village of Zatyshshia in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region.
Russian troops were also pushing forward in the transit hub of Pokrovsk in Donetsk region, capturing two districts there, the RIA state news agency cited the defence ministry as saying.
The report could not be independently verified.
