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U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said he "very vehemently" disagrees with Ukraine using U.S.-made missiles to strike targets "hundreds of miles" inside Russia, the Time magazine reported on Dec. 12.

Members of Trump's inner circle previously criticized the outgoing Biden administration's decision to ease restrictions on long-range strikes, though this is the first time the president-elect has spoken against it publicly himself.

"I disagree very vehemently with sending missiles hundreds of miles into Russia. Why are we doing that?" Trump told Time as the magazine named him Person of the Year.

"We’re just escalating this war and making it worse."

The U.S. president-elect has criticized the level of support the Biden administration provided to Ukraine and signaled Kyiv should brace for reduced assistance once he takes office in January.

While he boasted many times during his campaign that he would end the war within 24 hours, Trump admitted to Time that Russia's invasion is even more complex than the situation in the Middle East.

"The numbers of dead young soldiers lying on fields all over the place are staggering. It’s crazy what’s taking place."

When asked whether he would cut aid to Ukraine, Trump said instead he would use the U.S. aid as leverage to push the Kremlin to the negotiating table.

"I want to reach an agreement, and the only way you’re going to reach an agreement is not to abandon."

Trump met President Volodymyr Zelensky in Paris on Dec. 7 to discuss the ongoing war. Reuters wrote that while the two did not discuss specifics of any concrete peace plan, Trump called for an immediate ceasefire while Zelensky stressed the need for security guarantees.

Following his meeting with Zelensky, Trump said the Ukrainian leader is ready "to make a deal and stop the madness" and that Putin should do the same after incurring staggering losses in Ukraine.

"Too many lives are being so needlessly wasted, too many families destroyed, and if it keeps going, it can turn into something much bigger, and far worse," Trump wrote on Social Truth on Dec. 8.

Zelensky addressed Trump's post on his Telegram channel on Dec. 8, saying the war "cannot be ended simply with a piece of paper and a few signatures," warning that "a ceasefire without guarantees can be reignited at any moment, as Putin has already done in the past."

The Ukrainian president has signaled openness to a diplomatic end to the war as the Russian advance picked up pace in the east while Ukraine's resources grow thin.

As military options dwindle, US support is key to Ukraine’s peace talksUkraine is exhausted. Low on manpower, ammunition, and, most importantly, morale, the country is slowly reckoning with the fact that the ongoing war may be unwinnable on the battlefield — at least for now. According to a Gallup survey published on Nov. 19, 52% of Ukrainians now say they want theirThe Kyiv IndependentOleksiy Sorokin

Russia promises to respond to Ukraine's alleged strike on the Taganrog military airfield with ATACMS missiles. peskov said that the response will be given “when and how it is deemed appropriate.

Russia intends to retaliate against Ukraine's strike on Taganrog, which, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, was carried out with ATACMS missiles.

Transmits to UNN with reference to the Russian media.

Russian dictator Dmitry Peskov's spokesman said at a meeting with journalists that Russia will definitely respond to the attack on the city of Taganrog in Rostov region. The Russian Defense Ministry claims that the attack was allegedly carried out on the airfield in the city, using long-range ATACMS missiles.

I want to remind you of the absolutely unambiguous and direct statement of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation yesterday, which clearly states that there will be a response… When and how it is deemed appropriate. It will happen”

– Peskov said, according to Russian media.

Recall

UNN reports: the Russian Defense Ministry announced a morning missile attack on a military airfield in Taganrog, using American ATACMS missiles. According to the Russian military, some of the missiles were allegedly shot down and deflected by air defense systems.

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Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and French President Emmanuel Macron are expected to discuss the possibility of sending soldiers to Ukraine after a potential ceasefire deal, Bloomberg reported on Dec. 11, citing undisclosed sources.

Macron is visiting Warsaw on Dec. 12 to brief the Polish prime minister on his meeting with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump last week and to discuss Europe's support for Ukraine and ways to end Russia's war.

European powers, like France and Poland, are expected to take center stage in helping Kyiv resist and deter Russian aggression as Trump signaled intent to reduce support and get the U.S. "out" of the war.

According to Bloomberg, the talks between Macron and Tusk are to focus on how to strengthen Ukraine's security in the short- and long-term, including the option of deploying European soldiers once a ceasefire is reached.

The French president has spearheaded the idea of sending troops to Ukraine in some capacity since February. More recently, Macron reportedly discussed the proposal of sending peacekeepers on the ground with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer in November.

Szymon Holownia, the speaker of the lower chamber of the Polish parliament, told the media that Poland would be involved in such a mission only within a NATO framework.

President Volodymyr Zelensky, who also met Trump and Macron on Dec. 7, recently said that Ukraine "may consider" the deployment of foreign peacekeepers, but only after receiving a clear timeline for NATO membership.

Both Paris and Warsaw have been favorable toward Ukraine's entry into the alliance, but the step continues to meet opposition in the U.S., Germany, Hungary, and elsewhere.

The possibility of a diplomatic end to the war is increasingly discussed in Ukraine and the West. Tusk, whose country takes over the EU Council's presidency in January, said peace talks could begin as early as this winter.

Russia showed no interest in a ceasefire as its forces currently hold the upper hand on the battlefield, closing in on key Ukrainian strongholds in Donetsk Oblast.

‘Russian colonialism is not reformable,’ says historian Botakoz KassymbekovaMost Russians seem unwilling to give up the privileges the government gives them at the expense of the country’s ethnic minorities, says Botakoz Kassymbekova, a historian focusing on Eastern Europe at the University of Zurich. “Russian colonialism is not reformable,” she says. “Russian dissidents…The Kyiv IndependentDinara Khalilova