Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said a peace agreement to end the war with Russia is “90% ready”, in a New Year address that largely focused on resistance to Moscow’s full-scale invasion.
Zelensky said the remaining 10% of the agreement to end nearly four years of conflict would “determine the fate of peace, the fate of Ukraine and Europe”.
In his own New Year speech, Russian President Vladimir Putin told his troops that “we believe in you and our victory”.
Earlier on Wednesday, Moscow also released what it said was evidence of Ukraine using drones to target Putin’s private home on Lake Valdai in north-west Russia, allegations Kyiv has strenuously denied.
It included a map allegedly showing that the drones were launched from the Sumy and Chernihiv regions of Ukraine and a video of a downed drone lying in snowy woodland. A serviceman standing next to the wreckage claims it is a Ukrainian Chaklun drone.
The BBC hasn’t been able to verify the footage, and it is not possible to locate where it was shot.
Russia would review its position on the ongoing peace negotiations as a result of the alleged incident, the Kremlin said.
However, Kaja Kallas, the EU’s top diplomat, on Wednesday described the Russian claims as a “deliberate distraction” and an attempt to derail the peace process.
