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Kremlin representative Kirill Dimitriev informed U.S. reporters of the positive progress in peace negotiations with Ukraine, even as Russian military forces carried out a fatal missile attack on Odesa, a key port city in southern Ukraine.
“The talks are moving forward constructively. They started earlier and are set to continue today and into tomorrow,” Dimitriev shared with the media during a gathering in Florida on Saturday.
In Florida, Dimitriev held discussions with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, former President Donald Trump’s son-in-law. This meeting followed a series of separate discussions the U.S. had with Ukrainian officials.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed uncertainty about the current state of the peace talks while addressing the press on Saturday.
Both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have had individual meetings with former President Donald Trump, highlighting the significance of U.S. involvement in the peace process.
“The critical issue is how the United States will react after consulting with the Russians. As of now, I am uncertain, but I hope to have more clarity later today,” Zelenskyy stated.
Russia’s campaign against Ukraine has continued unabated despite the peace talks. A Saturday strike on Odesa killed eight people and injured 27 others.
Russian President Vladimir Putin noted on Friday that the nation’s “troops are advancing,” and expressed confidence that Russia would achieve its goals by military force if Ukraine does not accept its peace terms.
Jared Kushner, Steve Witkoff, Yuri Ushakov, and Kirill Dmitriev arrive for talks with President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin’s Senate Palace in Moscow on Dec. 2, 2025. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
“Our troops are advancing all across the line of contact, faster in some areas or slower in some others, but the enemy is retreating in all sectors,” Putin declared Friday during his annual news conference.
“The goals of the special military operation will undoubtedly be achieved. We would prefer to accomplish this and address the root causes of the conflict through diplomatic means,” he continued.
Ukrainian military members carry the coffin of Vasyl Ratushnyi, a Ukrainian serviceman who served as a drone operator in “Madyar’s Birds” unit and who was killed fighting Russian troops at the front, during his funeral ceremony outside St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv. (Roman Pilipey/AFP via Getty Images)
“However, if the opposing side and its foreign patrons refuse to engage in substantive dialogue, Russia will achieve the liberation of its historical lands by military means,” Putin declared.
Russia’s peace terms have so far required Ukraine to give up vast swathes of territory, including some territory not already under Russian occupation.
