Summary
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in his New Year's Eve address, tells Ukrainians that a peace deal is 90 percent ready -- but that the final 10 percent contains "everything."
- Ukrainian forces hit multiple Russian oil depots as 2025 ended, targeting sites in Tuapse, the Taman Peninsula, and Rybinsk.
- Zelenskyy will host a January 3 meeting in Ukraine with security advisers from the Coalition of the Willing ahead of talks with European leaders in Paris on January 6.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told his country that a peace deal is "90 percent" complete, but he warned that the remaining 10 percent will be difficult and that it will decide "the fate of peace, Ukraine, and Europe."
The New Year's Eve address came as he prepared for the next round of peace negotiations and as Ukrainian forces struck back at the Kremlin's energy assets following intensified Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure.
The Ukrainian leader insisted that he will only sign a "strong agreement" and that he won't agree to a deal that will mean the "end of Ukraine."
A peace deal is "90 percent ready...but the remaining 10 percent contains, in fact, everything...that will determine the fate of peace, the fate of Ukraine and Europe, and how people will live," he said in the televised address.
SEE ALSO: High Hurdles: The Main Obstacles To A Ukraine Peace Deal"What does Ukraine want? Peace? Yes."
"But at any cost? No. We want the end of the war. Not the end of Ukraine," he added.
He acknowledged that Ukrainians are "tired" of war as the four-year mark for Russia's full-scale invasion of February 2022 nears. But he added that those who think Kyiv will "surrender" are "deeply mistaken."
"My signature will be placed on a strong agreement. And that is exactly what every meeting, every phone call, every decision is about now. To secure a strong peace for everyone, not for a day, a week or two months, but peace for years," Zelenskyy said.
The Ukrainian leader urged the "entire world' to pressure Moscow and said taking the Kremlin at its word is a "verdict against shared international security."
A flurry of diplomatic activity was sparked in November when US President Donald Trump pressed Zelenskyy to accept a 28-point peace proposal that many saw as heavily favoring Russia.
Ukraine and its European allies -- led by Britain, France, and Germany -- scrambled to develop a counterproposal, eventually putting forward a 20--point plan that took in more of Kyiv's interests, especially on security guarantees and territorial integrity.
Meetings In Early January With Europeans
Zelenskyy said national-security advisers from the so-called Coalition of the Willing countries would hold a meeting in Ukraine on January 3, just ahead of a gathering of European leaders on January 6 in Paris.
The coalition is an informal grouping of some 30 countries, led by Britain and France, that have expressed interest in supporting peace-keeping efforts in the event of a cease-fire in Ukraine. It was not known which of the countries would participate in the meetings.
French President Emmanuel Macron said in his New Year's Eve speech that European states and other allies will make "concrete" commitments to Ukraine's security during the Paris talks.
A woman on December 31 walks past an apartment building that was hit by a Russian missile earlier in 2025 in Kyiv.
Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, on December 31 said he had a "productive" phone call with the national-security advisers of Britain, France, and Germany to discuss the peace process.
Witkoff said participants also discussed a Ukrainian "prosperity package" and that Rustem Umerov, Kyiv's main negotiator, was also on the call, along with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner.
"We focused on how to move the discussions forward in a practical way on behalf of [Trump's] peace process, including strengthening security guarantees and developing effective deconfliction mechanisms to help end the war and ensure it does not," he added.
SEE ALSO: Russia Hits Ukraine's Energy Infrastructure As Winter Cold Sets InWSJ: US Finds Ukraine Did Not Target Putin
Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal, citing US national-security sources, said Washington has determined that Ukraine did not target Russian President Vladimir Putin or one of his residences, directly contradicting Kremlin assertions.
The report said a CIA assessment found that no attempted attack against Putin had occurred. It said Ukraine did strike a military target that it had previously hit, located in the same region as Putin’s country residence but not especially close by.
Trump initially seemed to accept Putin's claim of an attack, despite vehement denials by Kyiv.
He later appeared to play down the Russian claim, posting -- without comment -- a link to a New York Post editorial and sharing the headline: “Putin ‘attack’ bluster shows Russia is the one standing in the way of peace.”
Reuters cited a source as saying Trump reposted the article after receiving a briefing from CIA Director John Ratcliffe.
Kaja Kallas, the EU's top diplomat, also rejected Russia's claims, calling them "a deliberate distraction," without providing details.
Ukraine Hits Russian Oil Sites
Since the full-scale invasion began, Russia has carried out more than 4,500 attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, according to government data.
The UN has warned that continued strikes on power and heating systems could pose severe humanitarian risks during the winter months, particularly for vulnerable populations, including the elderly, people with disabilities, and families with young children.
Amid Russia's intensified attacks, Ukraine has struck back, hitting sites with drones inside Russia that Kyiv says help fuel the Kremlin's war effort.
On December 31, local authorities reported that two people were injured in a drone attack on Russia's Black Sea port of Tuapse.
The strike damaged a port berth, oil refinery equipment, and several homes, according to the local authorities.
Ukraine's General Staff later confirmed the strike and said another oil terminal, on the Taman Peninsula in the Krasnodar region, had also been hit.
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Ukrainian Air Defenses Race To Stay Ahead Of Evolving Russian Threats
Separately, Ukraine's SBU domestic security service on December 31 said long-range drones hit the Temp oil depot in the Russian city of Rybinsk in the Yaroslavl region, sparking a large fire.
The oil depot is a key storage and distribution center in northeastern Russia.
"The SBU continues to disrupt the supply chains of Russian petroleum products both abroad and to the troops attacking Ukraine with surgical precision," the Ukrinform news agency cited an unnamed SBU official as saying.