Yury Ushakov, aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, stated following a telephone conversation between Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump that the leaders share the view the temporary ceasefire proposed by Ukraine and Europe would merely prolong the conflict, according to Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Telegram channel as posted on X between 4:15 a.m. and 6:15 a.m. UTC on December 30, 2025. The statement comes amid reports of U.S. President Trump's offhand comment at Mar-a-Lago that Putin told him something reviving questions about trust, as detailed in a Kyiv Post article shared on X during the reporting window. The White House declined to say whether Trump received any intelligence briefing corroborating the Russian claim before speaking publicly, according to the same report. European officials familiar with the matter expressed concerns about trust and sequencing during yesterday's Mar-a-Lago call between Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and several European leaders, per the Kyiv Post. In eastern Ukraine military developments over the past two hours, units of Russia's Western Group of Forces advanced north of Slavyansk, west of Yarovaya toward Sosnovoye, bypassing Svyatogorsk and advancing toward Izyum, with fighting on the approaches to Aleksandrovka and Korovye Yar as well as battles for Yarovaya, according to Telegram channel voenkorKotenok. Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopters received an advanced German Hensoldt AMPS defensive system upgrade featuring AN/AAR-60 MILDS missile detection sensors, as shown in an X post by Osinttechnical during the period. These updates follow Zelenskyy's Fox News interview earlier on December 30 stating he does not trust Putin, according to UNITED24Media citing an X post, and occur amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
