Daily review

Ukraine's president said he's ready to hold elections in three months if the US and Europe ensure protection for polling stations from Russian strikes, as pressure mounts over Trump's peace plan.

Hungary's veto sparks EU push to seize €210bn in frozen Russian assets.

US envoy Keith Kellogg says peace deal is in "last 10 meters," but territorial disputes remain unresolved as Moscow doubles down on Donbas demands. Meanwhile, massive barrages target civilian infrastructure, leaving Ukrainians facing 12-16 hours without power daily. Ukrainian

The US is pressuring EU states to abandon plans for seizing €210 billion in Russian assets, Belgium remains the key holdout, and Denmark announced it's slashing military aid nearly in half. Meanwhile, Ukrainian drones struck 23,441 targets in November - hitting energy sites from Chechnya to the Black Sea overnight.

Russian drones and artillery knocked out Kherson's heat supply as winter sets in, while Berlin committed fresh funds to help Ukraine restore its battered energy grid.

Trump envoys leave Moscow empty-handed after Putin delays meeting for hours, offers no compromise.

Sweden has allocated $116 million in winter aid to Ukraine, focusing on energy supply and infrastructure repair.

A landmark legal challenge by sanctioned Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman threatens to unravel Western sanctions regimes.

Ukraine's chief of staff stepped down just 24 hours before planned talks with Trump envoys, as leaked US peace plan offers Putin recognition of seized territories.

Putin offers no compromise in his latest address, declaring Russia ready to fight until the last Ukrainian while demanding Kyiv surrender the Donbas and inviting US negotiators to Moscow on Russian terms.

Russia flatly rejects any concessions under US peace plan.

Hours after calling European peace amendments "unacceptable," Moscow launched a double Kinzhal-Iskander strike on the Ukrainian capital - but Ukraine is hitting back in what officials call the "first symmetric winter," with drones destroying Russia's secret laser weapon plane, striking the sole A-50 repair plant for the fourth time, and overwhelming Russian air defenses.

Russia has increased oil discounts to India from $3 to over $7 per barrel in just one month, revealing the mounting pressure from Western sanctions on Moscow's energy revenues.

Ukrainian forces scrambled to contain a Russian breakthrough threatening the strategic city of Huliaipole as Washington delivered an ultimatum: accept peace terms or lose air defense systems protecting civilians from the 1,050 drones and 60 missiles Russia launched this week alone.

Ukraine confronts its "hardest moment" - a US peace plan echoing Kremlin demands, President Zelenskyy's support collapsing to 25% over "Mindichgate," every major power plant now damaged and cities in darkness, and Russian forces deploying new fog-enabled offensive tactics.

Finland's foreign minister warned the Trump-backed peace framework risks "erasing the UN Charter," while ISW analysis concluded the 28-point plan is "fundamentally the same" as Russia's rejected 2022 demands - ceding territory and halving Ukraine's forces while staying silent on security guarantees.

The Russian missile made with US, German, Chinese parts kills the civilians in a deliberate strike.

Photos revealed German European Parliament members from the ultra-left BSW party met in Moscow with organizers of the EU-sanctioned Voice of Europe Russian influence network.

Taiwanese and South Korean companies continue supplying industrial tools and equipment for the production in Russia.

A massive Russian drone and missile barrage killed at least 6 civilians in Kyiv and wounded dozens more on 14 November, part of a weeks-long campaign that has launched over 2,000 drones against Ukraine's energy infrastructure. Ukrainian forces struck back with sabotage operations 6,600 kilometers inside Russia and naval strikes on Novorossiysk, while a deepening corruption scandal at state nuclear operator Energoatom threatens to undermine critical reforms and worsen the energy crisis.