Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the New Year with a speech that stressed a peace agreement with Russia can't come "at any cost" as the two sides traded air strikes, highlighting the divide still to be overcome to stop the war.
The 21-minute long New Year's Eve address came as he prepared for the next round of peace negotiations and as Ukrainian forces struck back at the Kremlin's energy assets following intensified Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure.
A US-brokered peace deal is "90 percent" complete, Zelenskyy said, but he warned that the remaining 10 percent will be difficult and that it will decide "the fate of peace, Ukraine, and Europe."
"What does Ukraine want? Peace? Yes. At any cost? No. We want an end to the war but not the end of Ukraine," Zelenskyy said in the televised address.
"Are we tired? Very. Does this mean we are ready to surrender? Anyone who thinks so is deeply mistaken."
The Ukrainian leader insisted that he will only sign a "strong agreement" as any signature "placed on weak agreements will only fuel the war."
In a far shorter address to Russians, President Vladimir Putin told his country it would win the war in Ukraine as he spoke about Russia's destiny and the unity of its citizens, which he said guaranteed the sovereignty and security of the "Fatherland."
"I congratulate our fighters and commanders on the beginning of the New Year! We believe in them and in our victory," Putin said in the brief, three-minute address, which was dominated by talk of what the Kremlin calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine.
Hours after the two leaders gave their addresses, actions on the battlefield belied the prospects of peace.
Zelenskyy said Russia had targeted energy infrastructure in seven regions across Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Russian officials claimed Ukraine killed at least 24 people, including a child, in a drone strike on a hotel and cafe where civilians were ringing in the New Year in a Russian-controlled part of Ukraine's Kherson region.
The claim could not be independently verified.
Asked about the incident, Dmytro Lykhoviy, Ukrainian military spokesman, told Interfax Ukraine that Kyiv's forces attack only Russian military or energy assets, without referring specifically to the reported hotel strike.
Ukrainian forces "comply with the norms of international humanitarian law and strike exclusively at the enemy's military targets, facilities of the fuel and energy complex of the Russian Federation and other legitimate targets, with the aim of reducing the military potential of the aggressor country," Lykhoviy was quoted as saying.
Global Diplomatic Push
A flurry of diplomatic activity was sparked in November 2025 when US President Donald Trump pressed Zelenskyy to accept a 28-point peace proposal that many saw as heavily favoring Russia.
Ukraine and its European allies -- led by Britain, France, and Germany -- scrambled to develop a counterproposal, eventually putting forward a 20--point plan that took in more of Kyiv's interests, especially on security guarantees and territorial integrity.
Zelenskyy said national-security advisers from the so-called Coalition of the Willing countries would hold a meeting in Ukraine on January 3, just ahead of a gathering of European leaders on January 6 in Paris.
The coalition is an informal grouping of some 30 countries, led by Britain and France, that have expressed interest in supporting peace-keeping efforts in the event of a cease-fire in Ukraine. It was not known which of the countries would participate in the meetings.
Zelenskyy urged the "entire world' to pressure Moscow and said taking the Kremlin at its word is a "verdict against shared international security."
French President Emmanuel Macron said in his New Year's Eve speech that European states and other allies will make "concrete" commitments to Ukraine's security during the Paris talks.
Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, on December 31 said he had a "productive" phone call with the national-security advisers of Britain, France, and Germany to discuss the peace process.
Witkoff said participants also discussed a Ukrainian "prosperity package" and that Rustem Umerov, Kyiv's main negotiator, was also on the call, along with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner.
"We focused on how to move the discussions forward in a practical way on behalf of [Trump's] peace process, including strengthening security guarantees and developing effective deconfliction mechanisms to help end the war and ensure it does not," he added.
WSJ: US Finds Ukraine Did Not Target Putin
Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal, citing US national-security sources, said Washington has determined that Ukraine did not target Russian President Vladimir Putin or one of his residences, directly contradicting Kremlin assertions, which have yet to be independently verified.
The report said a CIA assessment found that no attempted attack against Putin had occurred. It said Ukraine did strike a military target that it had previously hit, located in the same region as Putin’s country residence but not especially close by.
Trump initially seemed to accept Putin's claim of an attack, despite vehement denials by Kyiv.
He later appeared to play down the Russian claim, posting -- without comment -- a link to a New York Post editorial and sharing the headline: “Putin ‘attack’ bluster shows Russia is the one standing in the way of peace.”
Reuters cited a source as saying Trump reposted the article after receiving a briefing from CIA Director John Ratcliffe.
Kaja Kallas, the EU's top diplomat, also rejected Russia's claims, calling them "a deliberate distraction," without providing details.
