Ukraine’s top allies hold security talks in Kyiv; Russia condemns US attack on Venezuela. What we know on day 1,411 The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, says he hopes for a leaders’ summit in the US by the end of January to discuss proposals on how to end the war with Russia. Security advisers from Ukraine’s top allies met in Kyiv on Saturday for talks on a US-brokered plan to end the war, days after Kyiv announced a deal was “90%” ready. Officials from 15 countries including the UK, France and Germany as well as representatives from Nato and the EU joined the meeting. The US special envoy Steve Witkoff also joined virtually, a Ukrainian official said, although the US military attack on Venezuela earlier in the day overshadowed proceedings. Next week, the talks will continue during a European leaders’ meeting in Paris and then with US negotiators. “And after that … we will be preparing for a meeting in the United States at the leadership level. We would like all of this to happen in January, by the end of January,” Zelenskyy said. Diplomatic efforts to end the war have gained pace in recent weeks, although both Moscow and Kyiv remain at odds over the key issue of territory. Russia, which occupies about 20% of Ukraine, is pushing for full control of the country’s eastern Donbas region as part of a deal. But Kyiv has warned ceding ground will embolden Moscow and said it will not sign a peace deal that fails to deter Russia from invading again. Speaking at a press conference on Saturday evening, Zelenskyy said that if diplomacy to end the war failed, his country would continue to defend itself. “If Russia blocks all of this – and as I said, it depends on our partners – if our partners do not compel Russia to stop the war, there will be another path: to defend ourselves,” he said. While the US may be making positive noises about a peace deal, exhausted Ukrainians remain wary after nearly four years of war, the Guardian’s Shaun Walker reports. Saturday’s meeting capped a week marked by deadly strikes, as well as a Russian claim – denied by Ukraine – that Kyiv had launched drones at a residence of Vladimir Putin in an unsuccessful attack. Russia accused Kyiv of firing drones at a hotel and cafe in the Moscow-held part of Ukraine’s southern Kherson region early on Thursday, killing what it said were 28 people celebrating the new year. Ukraine says it was a military gathering. A woman and three-year-old child died in a Russian missile strike on Ukraine’s second largest city of Kharkiv late on Friday, according to the region’s governor. And early Saturday, Russian bombardment of a Kyiv-held part of the southern Kherson region left two people dead, according to the region’s governor. Russia on Saturday condemned the US attack on Venezuela and called for the release of its leader, Nicolás Maduro, who was grabbed during an audacious military operation in Caracas. “We strongly urge the American leadership to reconsider its position and release the legally elected president of the sovereign country and his wife,” the Russian foreign ministry said. In a series of statements, the ministry called for dialogue between Washington and Venezuela’s government and expressed “solidarity” with Venezuela’s people. It stopped short, however, of offering immediate military or financial assistance to its ally. “This morning, the United States committed an act of armed aggression against Venezuela. This is deeply concerning and condemnable,” the ministry said in a statement. “The pretexts used to justify such actions are untenable. Ideological hostility has triumphed over businesslike pragmatism.” Moscow is one of only a handful of countries to congratulate Maduro on his disputed re-election in 2024. Venezuela is Russia’s closest partner in South America and a major buyer of Russian military hardware. Continue reading...

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