Zelenskiy, Trump Set to Meet as Russia Questions Peace Plan

<p>Photographer: Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg</p> — Photographer: Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will meet with US President Donald Trump 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 really is.

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Zelenskiy told reporters on Friday that he’d discuss sensitive issues with Trump including the future of the Donbas region in Ukraine’s east and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The meeting is set for 3 p.m. local time in Palm Beach, Florida, according to Trump’s official schedule.

John Herbst, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine and senior director at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, speaks with Joe Mathieu on “Balance of Power.”Source: Bloomberg

The Ukrainian leader said he plans to refine Kyiv’s agreements with the US 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.

Trump confirmed that Zelenskiy — and, separately, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — is coming to the US to meet with him during an interview with Politico published Friday. The US president also asserted that he has veto power over any potential Ukraine-Russia peace deal.

‘What He’s Got’

“He doesn’t have anything until I approve it,” Trump said, referring to Zelenskiy. “So we’ll see what he’s got.”

The Ukrainian leader has said that his country’s framework deal with the US was “almost ready” and signing it would depend on the meeting with Trump.

Trump also said that he plans to speak with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin “soon” and “as much as” he wants. The president anticipated that conversations with both leaders would “go good.”

Zelenskiy said he’d like European leaders to be present online during his meetings with the US. He held a flurry of calls Friday with key allies, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, NATO chief Mark Rutte and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, among others. A conference call between Trump, Zelenskiy 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,” Zelenskiy said in a post on X after speaking with Merz.

The larger 20-point peace plan — which Zelenskiy characterized as “90% ready” — can’t be signed without Russia and Europe, who are parties to the possible deal draft alongside Ukraine and the US, he said.

A total of five documents developed by negotiators from Ukraine and US are being tweaked on the daily basis, Zelenskiy said. Those cover topics such as a post-war 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 US 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 US-Ukraine plan, including more restrictions on Kyiv’s military.

Separately, Ukraine is convening a working group on organizing post-war elections, Zelenskiy said. A potential referendum on aspects of the nation’s future is one of the elements of the 20-point plan.

Zelenskiy on Thursday spoke with US 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 Zelenskiy. Trump is spending the Christmas break at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.

Zelenskiy said Friday he also wants to discuss with Trump how the US 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, Zelenskiy 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 US, 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.

Kyiv faced another drone and missile attack with explosions across the city early Saturday. Air defenses are in operation and civilians have been asked to stay in shelters, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram.

–With assistance from Deana Kjuka, Aliaksandr Kudrytski, Olesia Safronova, Hadriana Lowenkron and Se Young Lee.

(Adds meeting timing in 2nd paragraph, Kyiv attacks in last paragraph)