Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had a "really good conversation" with U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner.

President Vladimir Putin told some of Russia's top businessmen that he wanted the whole of Donbas, the Kommersant newspaper reported.

The staggering setback for the Kremlin occurred as fighting continued between both sides for nearly the fourth straight year and a US-brokered peace plan remained stalled.

Russia fired more than 650 drones and three dozen missiles at Ukraine in a major pre-Christmas attack, killing at least three people including a child.

A majority of Russians expect the war in Ukraine to end in 2026, state pollster VTsIOM said on Wednesday, in a sign that the Kremlin could be testing public reaction to a possible peace settlement as diplomatic efforts to end the conflict intensify.

Zelensky explained that if Ukraine was prepared to pull its heavy forces back by five, 10 or 40km in the 25% of Donetsk it still held to create an economic zone, making it virtually demilitarised, then Russia would have to do the same "accordingly by five, 10, or 40km".

The blueprint covers a broad range of issues, including territory, security guarantees and postwar reconstruction. But Russia has indicated little willingness to end the war.

Pope Leo XIV delivers Christmas message calling for peace in Middle East and Ukraine, urging world leaders to reject violence and embrace dialogue.