Russian President Vladimir Putin convened a meeting on the situation in the Northern Military District zone on December 29, 2025, between 1:46 p.m. and 2:45 p.m. UTC, directing forces to resolutely suppress enemy attempts to interfere with Russian Armed Forces in Kupyansk and stating troops of the Vostok group are advancing toward Zaporozhye, according to TASS. Putin noted the liberation of Seversk enables development of an offensive on the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration, highlighted prospects for complete liberation of Donbass territory, instructed continuation of work to expand a security strip along the Russia-Ukraine border in 2026, and said a Ukrainian Armed Forces group blocked near the Oskol River is gradually melting away while tasks for liberating Donbass, Kherson, and Zaporozhye regions proceed in stages with Ukrainian retreats, per TASS. Russian General Staff Chief Valery Gerasimov stated that over the year, Russian Armed Forces took control of 334 settlements, more than 700 square kilometers of territory, and 32 settlements in December alone; forces control the southeastern part of Grishin, are advancing in Krasny Liman, have liberated about 50% of Novopavlovka in Dnepropetrovsk region, and are moving toward Zaporozhye while fighting for Orekhovo. In a Fox News interview aired on December 29, 2025, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told host Bret Baier he sees no indication Putin wants peace, stating publicly Putin does not speak about peace and says he can go further. Deputy national security advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump, Victoria Coates, agreed Zelenskyy can be forgiven for not seeing Russia's best intentions after four years of war.
