Zelensky hails chance for a just peace as Trump assumes power; Putin ‘open to dialogue’ with new US administration

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated US President-elect Donald Trump on taking office hours before Trump’s inauguration in Washington and said he was open to dialogue with the new US administration on Ukraine and nuclear arms.

Ukraine’s State Investigation Bureau said on Monday it had detained two generals and a colonel suspected of negligence in failing to adequately defend against a Russian offensive in the Kharkiv region last year.

Zelensky hails opportunity for a just peace in congratulations to Trump

President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday hailed the opportunity to achieve a just peace in Ukraine, which is battling an almost three-year-old Russian invasion, as he congratulated the US leader Donald Trump on his inauguration.

Trump has repeatedly called for a ceasefire and has promised to promptly end the war, although he did not say how.

“President Trump is always decisive, and the peace-through-strength policy he announced provides an opportunity to strengthen American leadership and achieve a long-term and just peace, which is the top priority,” said Zelensky on X.

Ukraine sees cultivating close ties with the incoming Trump administration as a key goal and has been making overtures to the Republican following his triumph in November’s US election.

Zelensky said on Monday Ukraine was looking forward to active and “mutually beneficial” cooperation with the Trump administration.

“We are stronger together, and we can provide greater security, stability, and economic growth to the world and our two nations,” he added.

Putin congratulates Trump before inauguration

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Trump on taking office hours before Trump’s inauguration in Washington and said he was open to dialogue with the new US administration on Ukraine and nuclear arms.

Putin, who said he wanted to secure a long-lasting peace in Ukraine rather than a short ceasefire, made the comments during a meeting of Russia’s Security Council that was shown on state TV.

“We see the statements by the newly elected president of the United States and members of his team about the desire to restore direct contacts with Russia,” said Putin.

“We also hear his statement about the need to do everything possible to prevent World War Three. We of course welcome this attitude and congratulate the elected president of the United States of America on taking office.”

Putin’s statement reflects cautious hopes in Russia that Trump may be able to begin to repair ties between Washington and Moscow, which have fallen to their lowest level since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis due to Russia’s war in Ukraine, even as many Russian government officials publicly say they realise that such hopes may come to nothing.

Putin, who usually holds Security Council meetings on Fridays rather than Mondays, said Russia was open to talks with the new administration on a range of what he called key international issues, including nuclear arms and security and the Ukraine conflict.

“As for the resolution of the situation [in Ukraine] itself, I would like to emphasise that the goal should not be a brief ceasefire, not some kind of period of respite that would allow a regrouping and rearmament of forces, but a long-term peace based on respect for the legitimate interests of all people and all peoples who live in the region,” said Putin on Monday.

He also indicated that Moscow was ready to discuss nuclear arms control and wider security issues.

The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or New Start, which caps the number of strategic nuclear warheads that the US and Russia can deploy, and the deployment of land- and submarine-based missiles and bombers to deliver them, is due to run out on 5 February 2026.

It is the last remaining pillar of nuclear arms control between the world’s two biggest nuclear powers.

Ukraine detains two generals accused of negligence in defending against Russian offensive

Ukraine’s State Investigation Bureau (DBR) said on Monday it had detained two generals and a colonel suspected of negligence in failing to adequately defend against a Russian offensive in the Kharkiv region last year.

The DBR said in a statement on Telegram the detained officers were the former chief commander of the Kharkiv frontline, a former commander of a brigade and a former commander of an infantry battalion. It did not give their names.

Russia launched an assault across the border in May 2024 into Ukraine’s northern region of Kharkiv, advancing by several kilometres in the first few days.

The attack alarmed Ukraine, causing Zelensky to cancel scheduled foreign trips and fire several military commanders as he dealt with the unfolding crisis.

Ukraine’s military was eventually able to halt the Russian advance about 25km away from the edge of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, which Russia had unsuccessfully attempted to capture at the start of its invasion in 2022 before pulling back.

As Trump era begins, Ukrainians are exhausted by war

As Trump’s second term as US president dawns, Ukrainian soldiers and civilians see a hard road ahead in their war with Russia, and many have come to hope for a ceasefire without expelling Russian forces.

Trump’s aides have conceded that a deal to end the war could take months or longer, although the president-elect boasted on the campaign trail that he would quickly reach a settlement to stop the fighting triggered by Russia’s 2022 invasion.

Some Ukrainians fear they could be forced to make massive concessions after three years of brutal combat along a 1,000km frontline.

While Kyiv has sustained heavy casualties and months of Russian advances, it is unclear whether Trump will maintain his predecessor’s supply of US weaponry.

“There is a really big deficit of people. There are many demoralising factors in the news,” said a strike drone pilot from Ukraine’s 113th Territorial Defence Brigade, who asked to be identified by his battlefield callsign “Hell”.

The soldier said it was difficult for him to comment on Trump, but that he hoped for more supplies of Western fighter planes to reduce the stream of Russian air-dropped guided bombs.

Hell’s unit flies drones into the town of Vovchansk, which was occupied by Russia for months in 2022 before being liberated, then again becoming a battleground in 2024.

“The town’s practically destroyed, there’s not much left, just the ruins of a factory,” said a 21-year-old soldier with the callsign “Vietnam”.

Once a scene of barely-expected triumph but now slowly ground to dust, Vovchansk mirrors the erosion of spirits across Ukraine.

Hell said that when his morale flagged, he tried to remember an uncle and nephew pair in his unit who joined up after surviving Russian occupation.

Soldiers interviewed in the Kharkiv region last week said Russia appeared able to sustain high casualties from repeated waves of infantry-led assaults, while the Ukrainian side was simply short of men.

In Ukraine’s cities, the mood on Monday ahead of Trump’s inauguration was grim.

“I think he could help [end the war] but it won’t be quick and it won’t necessarily be in our favour,” said Anton Dubchak, a 23-year-old student in Kyiv’s central Maidan square.

“At the frontline, everything is terrible, that’s all.”

In the battered second city of Kharkiv, a pensioner in the Saltivka district, where many buildings bear the scars of Russian bombardment, was desperate for Trump to facilitate peace.

“It just can’t go on like this,” said Siria Shapovalova. “Saltivka is almost destroyed.”

Elsewhere in the city, less than 30km from the front, 23-year-old civil servant Oleksandra Frolova said Ukraine could not rely on anyone else to end the war.

“The new president won’t stop the war, no matter what he promises,” she said. “I think only we can change anything.” DM