Ukraine

• The U.S. has been nudging Ukraine to signal openness to peace talks with Russia, but Pres. Zelensky is driving a hard bargain. In Monday's nightly address he said he would only consider talks with Russia if Russia agreed to three stringent conditions: prosecuting its soldiers' war crimes, compensating Ukraine for war damage, and restoring all of Ukraine's territory (including annexed regions).
• Russia says it's open to talks and is just waiting on Ukraine to agree to them, but Putin has refused to consider returning the four Ukrainian territories he illegally annexed in September - even though Russian forces don't actually control much of that area. That's clearly not a starting point Ukraine can agree to.
• Meanwhile, satellite imagery suggests Russia has sent thousands of troops back to Belarus. Analysts think it could be a ruse to distract Ukraine, since there aren't enough Russian troops in Belarus to launch a meaningful offensive from there.

China

• A day after Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin boasted about interfering in U.S. elections, Canadian PM Trudeau accused China of playing "aggressive games" with democracies. Trudeau appeared to be referring to a local media report suggesting China funded 11 candidates in Canada's 2019 general election.

• Several wealthy European countries - Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, and Scotland - committed limited direct funding for "loss and damage" due to climate change, after decades of refusing to pay (Scotland led the field with a $2.2 million commitment at last year's summit and added an incremental $5.7 million to its commitment this year). The U.S. hasn't made a commitment yet.
• Venezuela's Pres. Maduro blindsided U.S. climate envoy John Kerry with a handshake and brief interaction that the State Department said "was not planned or substantive in any way." Kerry even appeared to tell Maduro off - via a translator - for surprising him.