Russia Keeps Hard Line On Peace Talks While Ukraine Reports Civilian Abductions

The Kremlin maintained its hard line on a Ukraine peace deal, rejecting undisclosed changes proposed by Kyiv and its European allies, as separate US-Russia and US-Ukraine talks wrapped up in Florida.

The remarks on December 21 came on the same day that Ukraine accused Russia of abducting civilians from a village in Ukraine's Sumy region and taking about 50 of them across the border into Russia.

The situation in the Sumy region remained unclear and details could not immediately be confirmed.

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In Florida, all sides continued to characterize the various negotiating sessions as "constructive," but there were no apparent signs of progress in either the US-Russia or US-Ukraine discussions.

No announcements were made on possible future meetings.

Reporting To Putin

As Russian chief negotiator Kirill Dmitriev concluded the second day of talks with US counterparts, Yury Ushakov, foreign policy aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, told reporters in Moscow to expect no breakthrough.

Dmitriev, he said, would simply return to Moscow and make a report to Putin on December 22.

"The Americans are celebrating Christmas in these days. Not many people are going to be working," Ushakov said.

"He [Dmitriev] will bring back some signals, which the Americans received from the Europeans and the Ukrainians," Ushakov was quoted by Russian media as saying.

After Dmitriev reports to the Russian leadership, "we will formulate the position with which we will proceed, including in our contacts with the Americans," Ushakov said.

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Ushakov claimed that changes proposed by Kyiv and its European allies would not improve the chances of peace, although he said he had not yet seen the exact proposals.

"I am sure that the proposals that the Europeans and Ukrainians have made or are trying to make definitely do not improve the document and do not improve the possibility of achieving long-term peace," he said.

Late on December 21, US special envoy Steve Witkoff posted on X that the talks with Russia were "productive and constructive."

"Russia remains fully committed to achieving peace in Ukraine. Russia highly values the efforts and support of the United States to resolve the Ukrainian conflict and re-establish global security," the statement read.

On the same day, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke with President Donald Trump, according to a statement from Downing Street.

"The two leaders began by reflecting on the war in Ukraine," the statement said, adding that they also discussed the work of the Coalition of the Willing, a group of mostly European countries committed to supporting Ukraine.

'Productive And Constructive'

Separately, Rustem Umerov, who has led Ukrainian diplomats in Florida, met with the US team -- also led by Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared ⁠Kushner. Umerov also held talks with key European allies during his trip to the US state.

"Over the past three days in Florida, the Ukrainian delegation has held a number of productive and constructive meetings with American and European partners." Umerov wrote on social media.

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"Key national security advisers from European countries also joined the discussions to agree on a common strategic approach between Ukraine, the United States, and Europe."

"Separately, a constructive meeting was held in the US-Ukraine format," he said, citing talks on a 20-point peace plan; security guarantees, including those with the United States; and economic development issues.

"Peace should not only be a cessation of hostilities, but also a worthy basis for a stable future," he added.

Trump in November began pressing Kyiv to accept a 28-point proposal that critics said was heavily skewed in Russia's favor.

Ukraine and its European backers scrambled to make amendments to protect Ukraine's interests on territory, security guarantees for Kyiv, and other issues, with reports suggesting the plan now consists of 20 points and takes in more of Kyiv's concerns.

US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally but who has taken a harder line on Russia, told NBC's Meet The Press program on December 21 that it remained unclear if Putin would accept the current deal.

But he added that, if he does not, the US administration should take an approach similar to its recent actions with oil ‌tankers near Venezuela and "seize ships that are carrying sanctioned Russian oil.”

Whereabouts Unknown

On the ground in Ukraine, Russian military attacks on civilian areas and infrastructure showed no signs of easing.

Authorities were evacuating people from part of Ukraine's Sumy region bordering Russia, amid reports that the Kremlin's forces had abducted civilians and taken them to Russia.

"It’s unclear what’s going on there. They keep coming at us," one evacuee, who gave her name as Tetyana, told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service on December 21.

Ukraine's ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, said he had written to his Russian counterpart, Tatyana Moskalkova, demanding information about the whereabouts of the kidnapped Ukrainian citizens.

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He has also appealed to the International Red Cross for help.

"I call on the international community...to stop the illegal deportations of the civilian population of Ukraine," he said.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said most of those taken were "elderly women."

"Russian invaders have stolen five dozen civilian people, mostly elderly women, from a tiny Ukrainian village, Hrabovske, right across the state border in the Sumy region," he wrote on social media.

"This particular war crime is already being prosecuted in Ukraine and should receive an appropriate response at the international level as well," he added.

"It also underscores the permanent threat of living next to Russia. That is why Ukraine needs a real, lasting peace. Living next to terrorists requires strength and robust security guarantees," he added.

Russia, Ukraine Exchange Strikes On Energy Facilities

Russian troops overnight attacked energy facilities in the Odesa, Zaporizhzhya, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zhytomyr regions, according to the Ukrainian Energy Ministry.

"As of this morning, consumers have been partially reconnected. Emergency repair work is ongoing," the Energy Ministry reported on December 22.

According to Deputy Minister of Energy Roman Andarak, the situation remains particularly difficult in the frontline regions, where daily shelling continues and energy remains "one of the enemy's main targets."

"The energy system is one of the foundations of normal life. Light and heat are things without which it is impossible to live. And for almost four years now, Russia has been deliberately trying to destroy this foundation for millions of Ukrainians," President Zelenskyy wrote in a post on December 22.

Meanwhile, authorities in Russia's Krasnodar region said early on December 22 that a Ukrainian drone strike damaged at least two vessels and piers in a village on the Black Sea coast. There were no injuries reported, but a fire was blazing at the Volna terminal early in the morning, officials said.

Ukraine has regularly hit the Krasnodar region, targeting energy assets that Kyiv says fund and fuel the Kremlin's war effort.