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U.S. and Ukrainian officials concluded talks successful Geneva connected Thursday (February 26, 2026) to sermon advancing efforts to extremity Russia's four-year penetration of Ukraine, conscionable arsenic Moscow signalled it was successful nary hurry to motion a deal.
An AFP newsman saw the U.S. delegation leaving Geneva's Hotel des Bergues, the venue of the talks, and the Swiss bureau ATS-Keystone published a photograph of the Ukrainian pb negotiator, Rustem Umerov, leaving the hotel.
U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing for an extremity to Europe's deadliest struggle since World War II, but has truthful acold failed to broker immoderate woody betwixt Moscow and Kyiv.
Previous rounds of U.S.-led negotiations betwixt Russian and Ukrainian officials successful Geneva and Abu Dhabi person failed to output a compromise, including connected the cardinal sticking constituent of territory.
Russia, which has signalled it volition not budge connected its demands for afloat power of Ukraine's eastbound Donetsk region, said Thursday it was excessively aboriginal to forecast erstwhile a woody would instrumentality place.
"Have you heard thing from america astir deadlines? We person nary deadlines, we person tasks. We are getting them done," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told authorities media.
Kyiv says the lone mode of breaking the deadlock is simply a leaders' gathering betwixt Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and that it aims to laic the crushed for specified a acme during talks connected Thursday (February 26, 2026).
"Today successful Geneva we proceed our enactment wrong the model of the dialog process. A bilateral gathering with the American delegation has begun — with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner," Ukrainian negotiator Umerov said earlier.
Ukraine aims to "synchronise positions" with the U.S. up of caller trilateral talks successful March, helium added.
Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev was contiguous astatine the talks venue successful Geneva connected Thursday, though determination was nary denotation helium met with the Ukrainian side, according to Russian authorities media.
Dmitriev declined to remark erstwhile helium was met by the property aft leaving the negotiations, according to a video circulated successful pro-Kremlin outlets.
Drone, rocket attacks
Hours earlier the meeting, Russian forces launched immoderate 420 drones and 39 missiles astatine Ukraine, wounding much than 2 twelve radical successful astatine slightest six antithetic regions, according to authorities.
AFP journalists heard respective explosions successful cardinal Kyiv soon aft authorities warned Russia had launched its attack.
The strikes deed an energy substation successful the confederate Odesa region, arsenic good arsenic a schoolhouse gathering successful the confederate Zaporizhzhia region, according to officials.
"Destruction has been recorded successful 8 regions, with galore backstage homes and flat buildings damaged," Mr. Zelenskyy said.
Also up of the meeting, Russia announced that it had returned the bodies of 1,000 killed Ukrainian soldiers to Ukraine, portion Moscow received 35 Russian bodies successful exchange.
The 2 sides regularly speech the remains of killed serviceman, 1 of the fewer areas of practice betwixt the warring countries.
Mr. Zelenskyy spoke with Mr. Trump connected Wednesday up of the talks, with U.S. Envoys Witkoff and Mr. Kushner portion of the 30-minute call.
"We expect this gathering (in Geneva) to make an accidental to determination talks to the leaders' level. President Trump supports this series of steps," Mr. Zelenskyy said.
After archetypal refusing to negociate with Russia, Mr. Zelenskyy has repeatedly said that the lone mode to resoluteness hard issues, including territory, is done a gathering with Mr. Putin.
Talks betwixt Moscow and Kyiv stay deadlocked implicit the destiny of the Donbas — the concern portion successful eastbound Ukraine that has been the epicentre of the fighting.
Russia is pushing for afloat power of Ukraine's eastbound Donetsk region, and has threatened to instrumentality it by unit if Kyiv does not cave astatine the negotiating table.
But Ukraine has rejected the request and signalled it would not motion a woody without information guarantees that deter Russia from invading again.
