Russia says Ukraine peace talks ‘proceeding constructively,’ as Kremlin launches deadly strike on Odesa

Kremlin envoy Kirill Dimitriev told reporters in the U.S. that peace talks with Ukraine are proceeding “constructively,” even as Russian forces launched a deadly missile strike on Ukraine’s southern port city of Odesa.

“The discussions are proceeding constructively. They began earlier and will continue today, and will also continue tomorrow,” Dimitriev told press gathered Saturday for a meeting in Florida.

Dimitriev met with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff as well as President Donald Trump‘s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. That meeting came after the U.S. side completed separate meetings with Ukrainian representatives.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sounded apprehensive about where peace talks stood when speaking to the press on Saturday.

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“The key question remains how the United States responds after consultations with the Russians. At this point, I honestly don’t know, but I will know later today,” he said.

Russia’s campaign against Ukraine has continued unabated despite the peace talks. A Saturday strike on Odesa killed eight people and injured 27 others.

Russian President Vladimir Putin noted on Friday that the nation’s “troops are advancing,” and expressed confidence that Russia would achieve its goals by military force if Ukraine does not accept its peace terms.

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Jared Kushner, Steve Witkoff, Yuri Ushakov, and Kirill Dmitriev arrive for talks with President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin’s Senate Palace in Moscow on Dec. 2, 2025. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

“Our troops are advancing all across the line of contact, faster in some areas or slower in some others, but the enemy is retreating in all sectors,” Putin declared Friday during his annual news conference.

“The goals of the special military operation will undoubtedly be achieved. We would prefer to accomplish this and address the root causes of the conflict through diplomatic means,” he continued.

Ukrainian military members carry the coffin of Vasyl Ratushnyi, a Ukrainian serviceman who served as a drone operator in “Madyar’s Birds” unit and who was killed fighting Russian troops at the front, during his funeral ceremony outside St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv. (Roman Pilipey/AFP via Getty Images)

“However, if the opposing side and its foreign patrons refuse to engage in substantive dialogue, Russia will achieve the liberation of its historical lands by military means,” Putin declared.

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Russia’s peace terms have so far required Ukraine to give up vast swathes of territory, including some territory not already under Russian occupation.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.