US President Donald Trump sees progress in talks with Ukraine: According to the White House, only a few open issues remain in the ongoing negotiations between Washington and Kyiv. Trump is optimistic, according to his spokesperson Karoline Leavitt, that an agreement can be reached soon. At the same time, he is increasing pressure on both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to bring movement into the deadlocked situation. handelsblatt.com

• The US exerted significant pressure on the Ukrainian delegation in Geneva, according to AFP citing negotiation sources. Although the intensity of this pressure decreased over the course of the talks, the basic political pressure remained. The delegation returned to Kyiv on Monday.
• Ukraine’s parliamentary speaker Ruslan Stefantschuk reaffirms Kyiv’s core red lines regarding the discussed peace plan. He rules out recognizing Russia’s occupation of Ukrainian territories, limiting Ukraine’s defense capabilities, or granting Moscow veto power over the country’s future alliances.
• The Kremlin rejects the changes made by European governments to the US peace plan as „not constructive,“ saying it only considers officially submitted proposals. At the same time, Putin adviser Yury Ushakov signals willingness to discuss the original plan by US President Donald Trump, which includes far-reaching concessions.
• Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warns that any solution to the Ukraine war must not weaken Europe’s security, especially that of Poland as an EU and NATO frontline state. He insists on a just, lasting peace and stresses that a collapse of Ukraine would pose an immediate threat to Poland.
• Chancellor Friedrich Merz warns against pressuring Kyiv into one-sided territorial concessions; Ukraine’s security interests are also Europe’s interests and must be protected in the long term. Merz points to the need for reliable security guarantees for Ukraine and tempers expectations of a quick breakthrough, saying peace does not come overnight.
• CDU foreign policy expert Norbert Röttgen describes the US 28-point plan as a „second turning point,“ calling it in Die Zeit a profound rupture in transatlantic relations. Washington is siding with the „warring dictator,“ he says. He calls for a fundamental strategic reset of European foreign and security policy.
• Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier calls the Geneva talks on the US plan a „small step forward,“ since Europeans are now involved in the process. The goal must be lasting peace while safeguarding Ukraine’s sovereignty.
• The German government views the progress in the Geneva talks positively, saying progress has been made—even though the US plan remains controversial due to its strong alignment with Russian war aims.
• Former EU Parliament President Martin Schulz warns against Europe taking too passive a role. Speaking on ntv’s „Blome & Pfeffer,“ he describes the US plan as merely a sketch or conceptual model for a possible solution. He sees it as an alarm signal for the EU and urges Europe to play a much stronger role so as not to be sidelined by Russia and the US.
• Black Sea port of Tuapse resumes operations: Shipments of oil products have resumed from Russia’s Tuapse after a two-week shutdown caused by a Ukrainian drone strike; the associated Rosneft refinery has also restarted operations. Ship-tracking data show that on 17 November, a tanker with around 30,000 tonnes of light heating oil departed toward the Suez Canal, and another of similar size was loaded on 18 November.
• Investigative network Correctiv has been declared an „undesirable foreign organisation“ in Russia. This bans all activity in the Russian Federation, and Russian citizens with ties to the organisation face criminal risks. Correctiv sees the move as an attempt to further suppress independent reporting.