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White House confirms US is working on a new peace plan good for both sides, Russia and Ukraine
Arpan Rai,Alex CroftFriday 21 November 2025 06:18 GMTComments
CloseZelensky says ready for honest work after talks with top US army official
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At least eight Russian airports had been forced to suspend operations during the night after Russia’s cities came under Ukrainian drone attack.
At least 33 Ukrainian drones had been intercepted and destroyed over five Russian regions, Crimea and the Black sea overnight, the Russian defence ministry said.
The attack comes hours after Volodymyr Zelensky said he was ready for "honest" work with Washington on a plan to end the war in Ukraine, while European allies pushed back against punishing concessions to Russia.
Zelensky, whose office said he had received a draft of the plan, said after meeting US army secretary Daniel Driscoll in Kyiv that Ukraine and Washington would work together on elements of it.
“Our teams – Ukraine and the USA – will work on the points of the plan to end the war," Zelensky wrote on Telegram. "We are ready for constructive, honest and prompt work.”
Zelensky's office did not comment directly on the content of the 28-point plan but said he had "outlined the fundamental principles that matter to our people."
"In the coming days, the president of Ukraine expects to discuss with president Trump the existing diplomatic opportunities and the key points required to achieve peace," it said.
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Revealed: The Russian commander wanted by Ukraine over Bucha massacres- What is in Trump’s controversial ‘secret peace plan’ to end the Russia-Ukraine war?
Russian troops disguising themselves as civilians in combat, says Ukrainian commander
Key Points
- Russia says 33 Ukrainian drones destroyed overnight
- Zelensky ready for 'honest' work on US-backed plan as Europeans push back
- Russia will rejoin G7 in Trump's new peace plan
- White House confirms secret peace deal and says it's good for both sides
- Russian attack kills five in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia
- Ukraine rejects reports of Russian forces capturing Kupiansk
Watch: Zelensky says ready for honest work after talks with top US army official
Zelensky says ready for honest work after talks with top US army officialArpan Rai21 November 2025 06:01How Trump's peace plan risks bad deal for Ukraine and a win for Putin
Donald Trump's push to end the war could drive a wedge between himself and European leaders, who are likely to oppose any agreement that could be seen as rewarding Russian president Vladimir Putin for his aggression, leaving him emboldened rather than defeated.
For example, the proposal would not only bar Ukraine from joining Nato but would also prevent the alliance's future expansion. Such a step would be a significant victory for Moscow, which views Nato as a threat.
Putin would also gain ground he has been unable to win on the battlefield. Under the draft, Moscow would hold all the eastern Donbas region, even though approximately 14 per cent still remains in Ukrainian hands. Ukraine's military, currently at roughly 880,000 troops, would be reduced to 600,000.
The proposal opens the door to lifting sanctions on Russia and returning it to what was formerly known as the Group of Eight, which includes many of the world's biggest economies.
Russia was suspended from the annual gathering in 2014 following its annexation of Crimea, a strategically important peninsula on the northern coast of the Black Sea that is internationally recognized as part of Ukraine.
Arpan Rai21 November 2025 05:57Russia says 33 Ukrainian drones destroyed overnight
At least 33 Ukrainian drones had been intercepted and destroyed over five Russian regions, Crimea and the Black sea overnight, the Russian defence ministry said.
At least eight Russian airports had been forced to suspend operations during the night, according to Russia's aviation watchdog.
Two people had been injured in the city of Slavyansk-on-Kuban in the Krasnodar region in southern Russia and classes at schools and kindergartens had been suspended due to a drone attack, the local emergencies centre said.
In the Rostov region, where seven drones had been downed, an electricity pylon was damaged, leaving over 200 houses without power, Yuri Slyusar, the local governor, wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
Arpan Rai21 November 2025 05:38Russian troops disguising themselves as civilians in combat, says Ukrainian commander
Russian forces are dressing up as civilians to confuse Ukraine’s defensive forces in the eastern town of Pokrovsk, Kyiv’s military has said.
The commander of the 68th Jaeger Brigade, codenamed "Liutyi”, told Ukrainian national broadcaster Suspilne that Russian troops are acting more like “sabotage and reconnaissance” groups rather than following any typical procedures of war.
"The most difficult thing is that they disguise themselves as civilians. They have been changing clothes for a long time and receive instructions to do so. Sometimes we identify the enemy only after the start of the firefight, because civilians will not open fire on our units,” Liutyi said.
Russian troops disguising themselves as civilians in Pokrovsk, says Ukraine
Disguising as civilians in order to launch an attack is typically regarded as a war crimeArpan Rai21 November 2025 05:30Money laundering networks lead from Britain to Russia, UK says
A billion-dollar money laundering network that operated across Britain bought a controlling stake in a Kyrgyzstani bank to facilitate sanctions evasion and support Russia's war in Ukraine, the National Crime Agency said this morning.
In an update to an international investigation into Russian money laundering networks, dubbed "Operation Destabilise", the NCA said it was highlighting the scale of networks it was disrupting that convert cash from street crime into cryptocurrency and tie the local drugs trade to organised and state-sponsored crime.
The NCA and the US Treasury Department last December cast a spotlight on TGR and Smart, two networks they said were used by rich Russians to evade sanctions and which London said laundered cash for drug traffickers, criminals and spies in a "cash-for-crypto" swap.
Arpan Rai21 November 2025 05:24What is in Trump’s controversial ‘secret peace plan’ to end the Russia-Ukraine war?
Donald Trump has given his approval for a controversial new peace plan to end the war between Ukraine and Russia, according to reports.
The new 28-point plan would consist of “security guarantees, security in Europe, and future US relations with Russia and Ukraine”, Axios reported, citing sources.
But it has caused outrage as it would require Kyiv to give up more land to Russia and partially disarm, conditions long seen by Ukraine and its allies as tantamount to capitulation.
Mr Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is said to have discussed the plan with Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev and Volodymyr Zelensky’s security adviser Rustem Umerov, according to officials from Washington and Kyiv.
The stark details inside Trump’s controversial ‘secret peace plan’ to end Ukraine war
European officials have said the US president’s new 28-point peace plan is a ‘capitulation’Arpan Rai21 November 2025 05:15Revealed: The Russian commander wanted by Ukraine over Bucha massacres
A Russian commander has become the first military official to be accused of systematic and coordinated war crimes related to the Bucha massacre, one of the bloodiest atrocities of the war in Ukraine.
Yurii Vladimirovich Kim, 28, the lieutenant platoon commander in the 76th Air Assault Division, is suspected of being criminally responsible for ordering troops to commit war crimes, including the wilful killing of civilians, during the illegal occupation of Bucha between 7 March and 1 April 2022 in the early stages of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Kim is suspected to be responsible for 17 killings and four instances of ill-treatment purposely committed by forces under his command.
Revealed: The Russian commander wanted by Ukraine over Bucha massacres
Over 400 bodies were recovered after Russia carried out atrocities in the town of Bucha in 2022Arpan Rai21 November 2025 05:00Putin is still pulling Trump’s puppet strings with a new Ukraine ‘peace’ plan – but they can be cut
He let the performance play out. Donald Trump would give the impression of independence from the Kremlin, threatening sanctions on Russian fuel importers and muttering insults, but, in the end, Vladimir Putin has snapped the puppet strings tight, and the US president is again dancing the Moscow jig.
It is a desperate but effective move by Moscow to dominate the terms of discussion over a war Russia cannot win.
According to a 28-point plan for peace in Ukraine briefed to the media on Wednesday, the US and Russia have agreed that Kyiv should give up a vast tract of the east of the country, halve its army, abandon its constitutionally mandated Nato membership application, and give up any weapons that could be used in its future defence.
The Kremlin is pulling Trump’s puppet strings, but they can be cut
The ‘deal’ being briefed out by Washington and Moscow is really just a blueprint for Russian conquest. Sam Kiley explains why it doesn’t have to be that wayArpan Rai21 November 2025 04:45Watch: White House expresses confidence as Ukraine peace plan advances
White House expresses confidence as Ukraine peace plan advancesArpan Rai21 November 2025 04:37Zelensky ready for 'honest' work on US-backed plan as Europeans push back
President Volodymyr Zelensky said after talks with a top US Army official that he was ready for "honest" work with Washington on a plan to end the war in Ukraine, while European allies pushed back against punishing concessions to Russia.
Zelensky, whose office said he had received a draft of the plan, said after meeting US army secretary Daniel Driscoll in Kyiv that Ukraine and Washington would work together on elements of it.
"Our teams – Ukraine and the USA – will work on the points of the plan to end the war," Zelensky wrote on Telegram. "We are ready for constructive, honest and prompt work."
Zelensky's office did not comment directly on the content of the 28-point plan, which has not been officially published, but said he had "outlined the fundamental principles that matter to our people."
"In the coming days, the president of Ukraine expects to discuss with president Trump the existing diplomatic opportunities and the key points required to achieve peace," it said.
Arpan Rai21 November 2025 04:09Newer1 / 6OlderMore about
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