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Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, detailed a peace plan that is largely complete despite Russia launching significant new attacks on Kyiv’s residential neighborhoods the day before. Zelensky visited Trump’s Florida resort as part of a pre-New Year’s diplomatic rush.

Following what he described as a “terrific meeting” with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida, US President Donald Trump has declared that peace talks intended to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine were “closer than ever before”. Trump, who had pledged a ceasefire on the first day of his second term in office, admitted that the talks are difficult and could yet fail, prolonging the conflict for years.

The possibility of ending the conflict, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives since February 2022, would be evident in a matter of weeks, he said.

Trump’s Remarks

We’ve performed admirably. Following the meeting, Trump told reporters that the two sides had “made a lot of progress on ending that war.” “We’ve had discussions on just about every subject.”

Similar to Zelensky’s previous meeting with Trump in October, Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, also had a phone conversation with the US president just prior, and Putin stressed that despite the attack, Moscow was “serious” about peace.

“I really believe we’re, Mr President, probably closer than — far closer than — ever before with both parties,” Trump stated, adding that “everybody wants it [war] ended.”

One of the main points of contention, according to both Zelensky and Trump, is determining the destiny of the Donbas region.

Although Russia has long requested territorial concessions, the new plan, which was altered after weeks of intense US-Ukrainian negotiations, would end the conflict at the current frontlines in the eastern Donbas region and establish a demilitarized enclave.

“It’s still unresolved, but it’s coming much closer. That’s a really difficult problem, but I believe it will be resolved,” Trump stated.

Zelensky’s Remarks

Zelensky quickly welcomed Trump’s unexpected invitation to speak to the Ukrainian parliament in support of the initiative.

Although it would need to be approved by Ukrainian voters in a referendum, the Ukrainian leader also expressed an openness to the updated US plan, which is Kyiv’s most direct recognition to far of potential territory concessions.

He claimed that “US-Ukraine security guarantees [were] 100% agreed” and that the peace framework outlined by Trump was “90% agreed.”

Zelensky stated that a “prosperity plan” for Ukraine and the order of the various steps were still being finalized by the two parties.

Russia’s Response

Russia, on the other hand, has showed no signs of giving in because it is optimistic about the steady progress it has made over the past four years against the formidable Ukrainian defenses.

The Kremlin portrayed European leaders as the obstacle to peace and urged Kyiv to make a “brave decision” and promptly remove troops from Donbas in its readout of the conversations between Putin and Trump.

Yuri Ushakov, the diplomatic counselor to the Kremlin, told reporters that “Russia and the United States share the same position which is that the Ukrainian and European proposal for a temporary ceasefire (…) would only prolong the conflict and lead to a resumption of hostilities.”

Additionally, Moscow has vehemently opposed the former Soviet republic’s admission to NATO.

In its most recent drone and missile attack, Russia cut out heating and electricity to hundreds of thousands of people in bitterly cold weather.

“If the authorities in Kyiv don’t want to settle this business peacefully, we’ll resolve all the problems before us by military means,” Putin stated on Saturday.

Additionally, Russia launched significant additional assaults on residential districts of Kyiv on Sunday.

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