Russia open to Ukraine talks if Trump starts them - envoy
· RTE.ieRussia is open to negotiations on an end to the Ukraine war if initiated by US President-elect Donald Trump, but any talks need to be based on the realities of Russian advances, Moscow's ambassador to the UN in Geneva has told reporters.
Mr Trump has repeatedly criticised the scale of Western aid to Ukraine's government and has promised to end the conflict swiftly, without explaining how.
His victory in the 5 November presidential election has spurred concerns in Kyiv and other European capitals about the degree of future US commitment to helping Ukraine.
"Trump promised to settle the Ukrainian crisis overnight. OK, let's get realistic - of course we understand that this will never happen," said Gennady Gatilov, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva.
"But if he starts or suggests something to start the political process, it's welcome," he added.
He also said that any such negotiations needed to be based on what he called the "realities on the ground", describing Ukraine as being on the back foot in the more-than-two-year conflict.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly said peace cannot be established until all Russian forces are expelled and all territory captured by Russia, including Crimea, is returned.
The "victory plan" he outlined last month maintained that provision, as well as an invitation for Ukraine to join NATO, long denounced by Russia.
Read more: What Trump's victory means for the war in Ukraine
Mr Gatilov indicated Mr Trump's election represented a new possibility for dialogue with the US, but a broader reset of relations was unlikely.
"Regardless of domestic political shifts, (Washington) consistently pursues a sense of containing Moscow ... the change of administration does little to alter it," he said.
"The only shift (that) might be possible is dialogue between our countries, something that has been lacking during the last several years," he added.
Russia says it captured another village in east Ukraine
Earlier, Russia said it captured another village in east Ukraine, closing in on the town of Kurakhove after months of steady advances.
Russia has captured new villages in east Ukraine regularly since this summer, as its offensive drags on.
The Russian defence ministry said its troops had taken the village of Voznesenka, north of Kurakhove - a town west of Donetsk city that had a population of around 20,000 before Moscow launched its 2022 offensive.
Russian troops now control territory to the north, east and south of Kurakhove, which lies on the shores of a reservoir.
Earlier this week, flood fears arose as Ukraine said Russian attacks damaged a dam on the reservoir.
Ukraine, meanwhile, has said that its forces "fully control" the north-eastern city of Kupiansk but there is "constant" fighting on its outskirts.
Ukrainian troops retook Kupiansk in September 2022, but the city has remained under fierce Russian attacks.
Yesterday, Russia escalated its attacks on Kyiv, launching waves of drones and missiles in its first combined aerial assault on the capital in more than 70 days.