Kiev willing to renounce NATO membership. Merz and Zelensky see US negotiators in Berlin

US President Donald Trump's negotiators, Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, are already in Berlin.

All eyes are on the German capital, which tomorrow hosts an important summit on Ukraine to end Russia's war of aggression. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders to Berlin. According to Bild, 'a breakthrough in the negotiations for an agreement could be reached on Sunday and Monday', there are several (at least three) 'signs that an agreement with Ukraine is imminent', perhaps even before Christmas.

Volodymyr Zelensky said he was ready to drop his application for Nato membership in exchange for security guarantees from the US and Europe, in a move aimed at helping the progress of the peace talks scheduled to take place in Berlin on Sunday. The Financial Times reports. "We are talking about bilateral security guarantees between Ukraine and the United States, i.e. guarantees along the lines of Article 5 ... as well as security guarantees for us from our European partners and other countries such as Canada, Japan and others," Zelensky told reporters in a WhatsApp chat.

The Pope, meeting privately with a group of opticians on the day of St Lucia, patron saint of sight, reiterated his desire to go to Kiev "when it is possible". Even last Tuesday, before returning to the Vatican from Castel Gandolfo after his meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky, who again invited him to Kiev, the Pontiff had told the media: 'I hope so, but we must be realistic'. Yesterday it was Riccardo Rossi, actor and friend of the Spiezia family of Roman opticians, who was also present at the private meeting with the Pope at the Vatican, who raised the question again, as the daily Avvenire explained. 'I think about it and I have thought about it many times,' replied the Pontiff, as reported by the daily newspaper of the Italian Episcopal Conference. 'But it is not so simple and it is not only me who decides, the security of other States is also involved. So, yes, I would like to go, we will see when it is possible'.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's international affairs advisor Yuri Ushakov has categorically ruled out the possibility of Ukraine regaining Crimea and joining NATO. According to Ushakov, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's demands will never materialise: 'Nothing will work for him. As for Crimea, not even in jest, I am 100 per cent sure it will not happen. And as far as NATO is concerned, the same, I am 100 per cent sure it will not happen,' he said in an interview with TV station Rossiya 1.

'Today is Ukrainian-American day in Berlin. Of course I will see Chancellor Merz separately, and I will probably meet with some of our European leaders later this evening,' is how Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking to the media including Rbc, explains the peace plan negotiations kicking off today in Berlin. 'I have not yet received,' says the Ukrainian leader, 'an answer from the United States of America. I have received some messages through my negotiating team. But I am receiving all the signals and I will be ready for the dialogue, which will start today'.

Russia has never discussed the 'Korean' option for the resolution of the Ukrainian conflict. This was stated by Kremlin advisor Yury Ushakov, and reported by Tass. "Not once," he told TV journalist Pavel Zarubin, when asked if the Korean option had ever been discussed. "We have discussed several options for a long-term solution. The Americans are familiar with our approaches. However, the possibility of replicating the Korean option has never been discussed. I have never heard of it,' Ushakov noted.

Russia has claimed that there are 'almost 500 political prisoners' in Ukraine, but Kiev insists that this is a falsehood, as these are in all cases people accused of collaborating with the invading Russian forces and of espionage, and not persecuted for their ideas. Rbc-Ukraine writes this. The Ukrainian website recalls that the Russian Commissioner for Human Rights, Tatyana Moskalkova, stated in an interview with the Tass agency that she wanted to call for the 'release' of the 500, in the name of human rights. According to Moskalkova, the list includes more than 70 Russian citizens and over 400 Ukrainian citizens, allegedly including priests, journalists and civic activists. Individuals who, according to Moscow's narrative 'have suffered for pro-Russian interests' and want to move to Russia. At the same time, the Russian side admits that there are currently no agreements with Kiev on the so-called 'repatriation' of Russian citizens, despite referring to isolated cases of repatriation. "The Ukrainian authorities," writes Rbc-Ukraine, "have repeatedly emphasised that all such cases are handled strictly in accordance with the law. These are not prosecutions for political opinions, but criminal cases related to collaborationism, cooperation with the occupation forces, assistance to the aggressor or other crimes against national security during Russia's large-scale war. Moscow systematically substitutes these concepts, describing those convicted of collaborationism as 'victims of repression'." "These statements by Moskalkova," writes RBC, "are part of a Kremlin information campaign aimed at discrediting Ukrainian law enforcement agencies and the Ukrainian justice system internationally. Against the background of continuing Russian aggression, these narratives are used to justify Russia's own crimes and to promote a distorted version of events. "Previously, however, there had been talk of large-scale Russian intensification in the temporarily occupied territories," Rbc-Ukraine concludes.

Following statements from Moscow by Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova about "retaliatory action" soon to be taken in the EU for the freezing of Russian assets in Europe, an EU Commission spokesman refers to what EU Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said on Friday: "Under the current sanctions regime, central securities depositories in the EU", such as Euroclear, "can offset any seizures in Russia with frozen or immobilised assets held in the EU," the commissioner said. "We can expect Russia to continue to initiate speculative legal proceedings."

After the announcement of the lawsuit brought by the Central Bank of Moscow against Euroclear at the Russian Arbitration Chamber, Dombrovskis was asked about the safeguards against possible retaliation: 'Let me remind you that, in general, our proposal is legally sound and fully compliant with EU law and public international law,' he said. 'The assets are not confiscated and the principle of sovereign immunity is respected. I would also like to point out that Russian central bank assets held in the EU, including those in central depositories such as Euroclear, are immobilised in line with the EU sanctions regime applied by member states since the start of Russia's illegal war of aggression. This is also in line with both EU and international law. EU financial institutions holding such immobilised assets are fully protected from legal proceedings. In particular, under the current sanctions regime, EU CSDs, the Central Securities Depositories, can offset any seizures in Russia against frozen or immobilised assets held in the EU." "We can expect Russia to continue to initiate speculative legal proceedings to prevent the EU from enforcing international law and pursuing Russia's legal obligation to compensate Ukraine for the damage it has caused," he said. "That is why, both in the current sanctions regime and in the proposals presented last week, we have included additional safeguards to protect EU financial institutions holding these immobilised Russian central bank assets.

Russia intends to expand the mass production of the Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missile and is considering options for its modernisation in order to improve the strike capability of its nuclear warhead,' the head of Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service, Oleh Ivashchenko, said in a comment quoted by Ukrinform, urging Western services to monitor this development and Russia's growing nuclear capability. The 007 chief emphasised that the programme receives priority funding from the Russian National Fund, also in view of the strategic importance of the Oreshnik missile for the country's military-industrial complex.

According to Ivashchenko, over 50 Russian companies are involved in the mass production of the missile, including major research and production organisations such as the Scientific Research Institute of Command Instruments, the Central Research Institute of Shipbuilding Machinery the Krasnodar Kaskad Instrument Production Plant, the Kalugapribor Instrument Production Plant, the Kaluga Electromechanical Plant, the Priboy Plant, the Soliton Research Institute and the Sinvent Technical Systems Research Institute. Ivashchenko noted that the Oreshnik missile, which has been used several times with conventional warheads in the conflict to strike Ukrainian cities, is in fact a modernised version of the Rs-24 Yars, whose development began in the early 2000s.

Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova is examining nearly 500 appeals from people imprisoned in Ukraine for their pro-Russian views, including priests, human rights activists and journalists. She announced this in an interview with TASS. 'Currently,' Moskalkova said, 'I am monitoring over 70 people, Russian citizens, who have applied to be returned to Russia, rescued and repatriated. We have over 400 people, Ukrainian citizens, who have suffered for pro-Russian interests and have been subjected to criminal prosecution and punishment. We constantly discuss these people'. According to the Commissioner, the repressed people include "priests, journalists, human rights activists and ordinary civilians who found themselves on Ukrainian territory". "Some were engaged in trade or some kind of social activity," said the ombudsman. No agreements have yet been reached with the Ukrainian side on the repatriation of the Russians. "But there have already been individual repatriations. And we hope that the dialogue will continue, until all these people are repatriated'.

Russia's Eastern Battlegroup destroyed nine drone control points and eight Starlink communication stations, said Dmitry Miskov, an official at the group's press centre. "During the day," he said, "the enemy lost nine control points for unmanned aircraft. Operators of unmanned attack aircraft from the group's unmanned systems units destroyed two ammunition refuelling points, a materials store, eight Starlink satellite communication stations and two unmanned aircraft drones."

Russian air defence systems intercepted and destroyed 235 Ukrainian drones overnight, the Defence Ministry said, quoted by the Tass news agency. "A total of 235 Ukrainian flying drones were intercepted and destroyed by air defence systems on duty overnight," the statement read. From 11pm (9pm Italian time) yesterday to 7am (5am Italian time) today, 141 Ukrainian drones were intercepted and destroyed. According to the ministry, 35 of them were shot down over the Bryansk region, 32 over the Crimean Republic, 22 over the Krasnodar region, 15 over the Tula region, 13 over the Kaluga region, seven over the Kursk region, four over the Ryazan region, four over the Rostov region, three over the Belgorod region, two over the Leningrad region, one over the Smolensk region, one over the Pskov region, one over the Novgorod region and one over the Moscow region.

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, confirmed his upcoming meetings with the representatives of the US president, Donald Trump, in order to reach an end to the war. "We are preparing for meetings with the US side and our European friends in the coming days. Berlin will host many events," he said in his evening address on TV, quoted by Ukrainska Pravda. "There will be a briefing by Secretary Umerov (head of the Ukrainian National Defence and Security Council, ed.) and our negotiating team on the meetings that have already taken place. General Hnatov and representatives of the Ukrainian defence and security sector will work on the details of security guarantees for Ukraine and Ukrainians. At the same time, Ukrainian government officials continue talks with the US and Europe on the real recovery of Ukraine and its real development after the war,' Zelensky said.

I vigili del fuoco lavorano sul sito di un attacco missilistico e di droni russi, durante l’attacco russo all’Ucraina, a Odessa, Ucraina, 13 dicembre 2025. REUTERS/Nina Liashonok