Ukraine war
Zelenskyy announces imminent visit to Trump
Updated 12/26/2025 – 8:32 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
The USA and Ukraine have long discussed a peace settlement. Now there could be quick decisions. But the question remains whether Moscow will take part.
In the struggle for a peace solution for Ukraine, head of state Volodymyr Zelensky has announced a visit to US President Donald Trump in the coming days. “A lot can still be decided by the New Year,” Zelenskyj wrote on the Telegram and X networks. He did not give an exact date.
His chief negotiator Rustem Umjerow informed him about recent contacts with the Americans. “We don’t waste a single day. We have agreed to a high-level meeting with President Trump in the near future,” Zelensky wrote.
Kiev newspaper Kyiv Post reported, citing diplomatic sources, that the meeting could take place on December 28 at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
Diplomatic efforts to end Russia’s almost four-year war of aggression against Ukraine have intensified in recent weeks. Trump wants to end the war. His negotiating team, consisting of special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kuschner, spoke intensively with the Ukrainian negotiators. Zelensky also spoke on the phone with Witkoff and Kushner on Thursday.
For two days in December, diplomacy also moved to Berlin, so the Europeans were involved. In each case, Moscow was involved through Russian-American contacts.
After the peace plan was kept secret for a long time, Zelensky went public on Christmas Eve with a 20-point plan. Among other things, it provides for security guarantees for his country that are similar to the assistance clause in Article 5 of the NATO Treaty.
Russian reactions to the negotiations in various locations were muted. A main point of contention remains that Moscow claims the incompletely conquered areas of Donetsk and Luhansk in Donbass. The Ukrainian army is defending itself there and does not want to vacate the areas.
