Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he plans to meet his US counterpart Donald Trump in Florida Sunday, as part of efforts to reach a peace deal to end Russia’s nearly four-year war in Ukraine.
Speaking to reporters Friday, Zelensky cautioned that he could not say whether the meeting would lead to a firm agreement, but said the two sides would aim to “finalize as much as we can.” Earlier on Friday, the Ukrainian leader had struck an optimistic note, writing on X that “a lot can be decided before the New Year.”
Zelensky told reporters that the 20-point peace plan hammered out by Ukrainian and US officials is “90% ready” and that he planned to discuss with Trump how Ukraine’s allies could guarantee its security in the future.
There was no immediate confirmation of the upcoming meeting from the White House. Zelensky’s announcement comes after he offered to compromise on some of the thorniest issues that have so far stalled the US-mediated peace process with Russia. It is not clear, however, whether Zelensky’s concessions will satisfy the Kremlin.
The initial, 28-point peace plan, which emerged in November following talks between the United States and Russia, was criticized by Ukraine’s allies as heavily favoring Moscow. Following weeks of talks between Ukrainian and US officials, that draft has been slimmed down to the current 20-point plan, which Zelensky has said can serve as a “foundational document on ending the war.”
Zelensky told reporters that Ukraine had not received an official response from the Kremlin to the latest proposal. He said Kyiv is negotiating exclusively with Washington, which in turn is communicating with Moscow.
“In my opinion, I see now that the agreement between us and the United States is almost ready,” Zelensky said. He stressed, however, that any peace deal will also need to be approved by Russia and Ukraine’s European allies.
If Russia does not agree to the peace plan drafted by Ukraine and the United States, Zelensky suggested that more should be done to force Moscow’s hand. “If Ukraine shows its position, it is constructive – and Russia, for example, does not agree, then the (existing) pressure is not enough,” Zelensky said, adding that he wants to discuss this with Trump.
Workers clear debris from a roof damaged by a Russian drone strike in Kyiv on December 24, 2025. – Roman Pilipey/AFP/Getty Images
Russia’s central demands are for Ukraine to abandon its ambition to join NATO – which was a distant prospect before Moscow launched its all-out invasion of the country in February 2022 – and for Kyiv’s military to withdraw fully from Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, a vast area known as the Donbas. It was here that the Kremlin started destabilizing Ukraine in 2014, helping pro-Russian separatists gain control of most of the area. The Donbas was eventually illegally annexed by Russia in September 2022.
Zelensky has offered concessions on both issues. During a wide-ranging press conference Tuesday to discuss the new 20-point peace plan, Zelensky said Ukraine was seeking security guarantees from its allies that would “mirror” NATO’s Article 5 – which requires all members to defend any member that has come under attack – but would no longer pursue full membership of the military alliance.
Zelensky also said Ukraine would be willing to withdraw its troops from parts of the Donetsk region not currently occupied by Russian forces. The Ukrainian leader said any withdrawal of troops would have to be reciprocal, with Moscow giving up as much Ukrainian territory as that ceded by Kyiv and those pockets of the Donbas becoming demilitarized as a result. Earlier this month, Zelensky noted that US negotiators wanted these territories to become “free economic zones” once all troops were withdrawn.
Ukraine’s constitution requires any changes to the country’s borders to be approved in a referendum. Zelensky reiterated Friday that “the fate of Ukraine should be decided by the people of Ukraine” and said Ukraine’s allies “have enough power to force Russia or to negotiate with the Russians” to ensure that any such plebiscite could be carried out safely.
For its part, the Kremlin has shown little sign of being willing to retreat from its demands. For weeks, Russian officials have insisted Ukraine withdraw all its troops from the Donbas, which would hand the area fully to the Kremlin.
Asked Friday about the peace talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Yuri Ushakov, a foreign policy aide to President Vladimir Putin, had spoken to members of the Trump administration after Moscow had received the latest proposals for a deal. Peskov did not say when the conversation took place.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Darya Tarasova and Tim Lister contributed reporting.
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