Russian President Vladimir Putin is warning that Moscow will extend its gains in Ukraine if Kyiv and its Western allies reject the Kremlin's demands in peace talks

But part is because Ukraine is keeping secret the methods it hopes will help it regain a winning edge elsewhere. Participants refuse to say how they circumvented the all-seeing eyes and kill-zones of the modern battlefield.

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, right, Russian presidential foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov, left, Russian Direct Investment Fund CEO Kirill Dmitriev, second right, and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, arrive for meetings in Moscow on Dec. 2, 2025. | Kristina Kormilitsyna, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says proposals being negotiated with U.S. officials for a deal to end the fighting in Russia's nearly 4-year-old invasion of his country could be finalized within days,

President Donald Trump on Monday described an end to the war in Ukraine as closer than ever, with American officials earlier in the day suggesting beefed-up security guarantees for Kyiv had advanced the peace talks — but that the US offer would not be on the table forever.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told ABC News during an exclusive interview in Moscow on Monday that he believes the warring parties are close to a deal.

President Donald Trump has directed U.S. officials to help to facilitate a “lasting and durable peace" between Ukraine and Russia, with a "very, very strong" package being presented.

The European Commission has proposed that the leaders use some of the frozen assets — totaling 210 billion euros ($246 billion) — to underwrite a 90 billion-euro ($105 billion) “reparations loan” to Ukraine. The U.K., Canada and Norway would fill the gap.

The leaders are to decide whether to loan tens of billions of euros in frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine's military and economic needs.