Zelenskyy expects to meet Trump Sunday as Russia questions plan
Published in News & Features
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he expects to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday in pursuit of a deal to end Russia’s nearly four-year invasion, though the latest comments from Moscow raise doubts about how close a final agreement ending the war really is.
Zelenskyy told reporters Friday that he would discuss sensitive issues with Trump including the future of the Donbas region in Ukraine’s east and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
The Ukrainian leader said he plans to refine Kyiv’s agreements with the United States to the maximum extent possible, potentially as soon as Sunday’s discussions, while the comprehensive 20-point peace plan would then require input from Russia and Europe.
The White House has not confirmed a meeting Sunday with Zelenskyy. Trump has previously said he would only meet with the Ukrainian leader or Russia’s President Vladimir Putin if a peace deal were imminent.
For now, Ukraine has no direct communication with Moscow, Zelenskyy said, adding that his country’s framework deal with the U.S. was “almost ready” and signing it would depend on the meeting with Trump.
Zelenskyy said he would like European leaders to be present online during his meetings with the U.S. He held a flurry of calls Friday with key allies, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, among others. A conference call between Trump, Zelenskyy and European leaders could take place Saturday, Axios reported, without saying where it received the information.
“Everyone in Europe must be on the same page in defending our European way of life, the independence of our states and peace in Europe,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X after speaking with Merz.
The larger 20-point peace plan — which Zelenskyy characterized as “90% ready” — can’t be signed without Russia and Europe, who are parties to the possible deal draft alongside Ukraine and the U.S., he said.
A total of five documents developed by negotiators from Ukraine and the United States are being tweaked on the daily basis, Zelenskyy said. Those cover topics such as a postwar security plan for Ukraine and an economic recovery deal likely to spawn several separate agreements.
Some issues remain, though, that can only be discussed at the leaders’ level, he said.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov described Kyiv’s latest plans as “radically different” from the key points Moscow has discussed with the U.S. in recent weeks, according to a report in Tass. He went on to say that Ukraine and its European allies have “redoubled their efforts to torpedo” any actual accord to end a conflict that began with Russia’s invasion in February 2022, but he also hinted that Christmas Day talks had yielded some progress.
“December 25 marked a point at which the sides moved closer to a settlement and a breakthrough is now needed,” Ryabkov said, according to Tass.
Earlier this week, a person close to the Kremlin told Bloomberg News that Moscow will seek key changes to the U.S.-Ukraine plan, including more restrictions on Kyiv’s military.
Separately, Ukraine is convening a working group on organizing postwar elections, Zelenskyy said. A potential referendum on aspects of the nation’s future is one of the elements of the 20-point plan.
Zelenskyy on Thursday spoke with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner for almost an hour, in what the Ukrainian president called “a very good conversation.”
The White House didn’t provide a readout of those talks, and hasn’t commented on a potential meeting with Zelenskyy. Trump is spending the Christmas break at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
Zelenskyy said Friday he also wants to discuss with Trump how the U.S. could apply more pressure to Russia if Putin doesn’t agree to sign the peace deal.
Putin continues to press Russia’s maximalist demands, including for Kyiv to give up land in Donbas that his troops have failed to capture for more than a decade of hostilities.
Ukraine rejects that demand, fearing that surrendering the heavily fortified area would leave it vulnerable to a new Russian attack.
However, Zelenskyy signaled earlier this week that he was open to the idea of creating a special economic zone in the eastern part of Donbas, as envisaged by the U.S., and pull his troops — but only if Russia does the same.
As pressure to reach an end to hostilities increases, Kremlin forces continue regular missile and drone strikes on Ukraine, with a recent focus on Odesa, while Kyiv’s forces have targeted Russia’s oil refineries and gas plants.
At least one person was killed and several civilians injured in the Black Sea city on Friday, with port infrastructure, warehouses and two civilian vessels damaged, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said on Telegram. Air barrages were also aimed at Kharkiv in the northeast, Cherkasy in central Ukraine and Mykolaiv in the south, among other locations.
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(With assistance from Deana Kjuka and Hadriana Lowenkron.)
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