5 months ago
1
U.S. President Donald Trump volition big his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, connected Sunday (December 28, 2025) to effort to close retired a bid agreement that would extremity astir 4 years of warfare that began with Moscow’s penetration of Ukraine.
The 2 volition conscionable astatine Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump’s backstage nine successful Palm Beach, Florida, wherever the U.S. president is spending the holidays and has an docket mostly filled with regular rounds of golf.
Mr. Zelenskyy said the 2 planned to sermon information and economical agreements, and helium volition rise “territorial issues” arsenic Moscow and Kyiv stay fiercely astatine likelihood implicit the destiny of the Donbas portion successful eastbound Ukraine.
In the days earlier the meeting, Russia has intensified its attacks connected Ukraine's capital, utilizing missiles and drones to onslaught Kyiv and effort to summation the unit connected Mr. Zelenskyy.
“Ukraine is consenting to bash immoderate it takes to halt this war,” Mr. Zelenskyy posted Saturday connected X. “We request to beryllium beardown astatine the negotiating table.”
In effect to the attacks, helium wrote: “We privation peace, and Russia demonstrates a tendency to proceed the war. If the full satellite — Europe and America — is connected our side, unneurotic we volition stop" Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Also Read | Russia strikes Ukraine’s superior sidesplitting one, time earlier Zelenskyy-Trump meeting
In a gathering with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney successful Halifax, Nova Scotia, connected Saturday, Zelenskyy said the cardinal to bid is “pressure connected Russia and sufficient, beardown enactment for Ukraine.” To that end, Carney announced $2.5 cardinal Canadian (US$1.8 billion) much successful economical assistance from his authorities to assistance Ukraine rebuild.
Denouncing the “barbarism” of Russia’s latest attacks connected Kyiv, Carney credited some Zelenskyy and Trump with creating the conditions for a “just and lasting peace” astatine a important moment.
Mr. Trump and Mr. Zelenskyy sitting down face-to-face, besides underscored the evident advancement made by Mr. Trump’s apical negotiators successful caller weeks arsenic the sides traded draught bid plans and continued to signifier a connection to extremity the fighting. Mr. Zelenskyy told reporters Friday that the 20-point draught connection negotiators person discussed is “about 90% ready” — echoing a fig and the optimism that U.S. officials conveyed erstwhile Trump’s main negotiators met with Mr. Zelenskyy successful Berlin earlier this month.
During the caller talks, the U.S. agreed to connection definite information guarantees to Ukraine akin to those offered to different members of NATO. The connection came arsenic Mr. Zelenskyy said helium was prepared to driblet his country’s bid to articulation the information confederation if Ukraine received NATO-like extortion that would beryllium designed to safeguard it against aboriginal Russian attacks.
Mr. Zelenskyy besides spoke connected Christmas Day with U.S. peculiar envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump’s son-in-law. The Ukrainian person said successful a station connected X that they discussed “certain substantive details of the ongoing work” and cautioned successful a consequent station that “there is inactive enactment to beryllium done connected delicate issues” and “the weeks up whitethorn besides beryllium intensive.”
The U.S. president has been moving to extremity the warfare successful Ukraine for overmuch of his archetypal twelvemonth backmost successful office, showing irritation with some Zelenskyy and Putin portion publically acknowledging the trouble of ending the conflict. Long gone are the days when, arsenic a campaigner successful 2024, helium boasted that helium could resoluteness the warring successful a day.
After hosting Mr. Zelenskyy astatine the White House successful October, Mr. Trump demanded that some Russia and Ukraine halt warring and “stop astatine the conflict line,” implying that Moscow should beryllium capable to support the territory it has seized from Ukraine.
Before Sunday’s meeting, Mr. Zelenskyy said the cardinal issues that stay unresolved betwixt Ukraine and the U.S. see questions surrounding territory, the Zaporizhzhia atomic powerfulness works and backing for Ukraine’s postwar recovery. He said determination besides are outstanding method matters related to information guarantees and monitoring mechanisms.
Ukraine has conveyed its presumption to the U.S., Mr. Zelenskyy said, adding that Trump medication officials would relay that to Russia.
Mr. Zelenskyy besides said past week that helium would beryllium consenting to retreat troops from Ukraine’s eastbound concern heartland arsenic portion of a program to extremity the war, if Russia besides pulls backmost and the country becomes a demilitarized portion monitored by planetary forces.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Friday that the Kremlin had already been successful interaction with U.S.
“It was agreed upon to proceed the dialogue,” helium said.
Mr. Putin has publically said helium wants each the areas successful 4 cardinal regions that person been captured by his forces, arsenic good arsenic the Crimean Peninsula, illegally annexed successful 2014, to beryllium recognised arsenic Russian territory. He besides has insisted that Ukraine retreat from immoderate areas successful eastbound Ukraine that Moscow’s forces haven’t captured. Kyiv has publically rejected each those demands.
The Kremlin besides wants Ukraine to wantonness its bid to articulation NATO. It warned that it wouldn’t judge the deployment of immoderate troops from members of the subject confederation and would presumption them arsenic a “legitimate target.”
Mr. Putin besides has said Ukraine indispensable bounds the size of its service and springiness authoritative presumption to the Russian language, demands helium has made from the outset of the conflict.
Putin’s overseas affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, told the concern regular Kommersant this period that Russian constabulary and nationalist defender would enactment successful parts of Donetsk — 1 of the 2 large areas, on with Luhansk, that marque up the Donbas portion — adjacent if they go a demilitarized portion nether a prospective bid plan.
Mr. Ushakov cautioned that trying to scope a compromise could instrumentality a agelong time. He said U.S. proposals that took into relationship Russian demands had been “worsened” by alterations projected by Ukraine and its European allies.
Mr. Trump has been somewhat receptive to Putin’s demands, making the lawsuit that the Russian president tin beryllium persuaded to extremity the warfare if Kyiv agrees to cede Ukrainian onshore successful the Donbas portion and if Western powers connection economical incentives to bring Russia backmost into the planetary economy.
