After weeks of talks between Kyiv and Washington, Donald Trump will meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Florida on Sunday, as the two signalled they could reach a diplomatic breakthrough in the last hours of 2025 to agree on a peace settlement.
"A lot can be decided before the New Year," Zelenskyy said, as the US president stated that he believed there was a "good shot" at reaching peace between Russia and Ukraine during President Zelenskyy’s upcoming visit to Mar-a-Lago.
The meeting is the culmination of weeks of high-level diplomacy between the two delegations. In the run-up to the talks, Russia launched yet another massive missile and drone strike on the Ukrainian capital.
While stopping over in Halifax, Canada, where he met Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, President Zelenskyy also held a call with European leaders. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the goal was to secure a “just and lasting peace that preserves Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
She also noted after the call that bolstering Ukraine’s defence capabilities “is an integral part of the security of our continent.”
Ukraine’s president said the negotiating teams have prepared “initial drafts of several documents” which will be discussed at the meeting in Florida on Sunday.
“There are certain issues that can only be discussed by us at the leaders’ level,” he stated, explaining that these specifically include security guarantees, economic cooperation, and the issue of Ukrainian territories.
Zelenskyy said for the security guarantees that “there are several documents and it would be desirable to find an opportunity to discuss all of them.”
As for the economic agreement, “there are only basic drafts at this stage."
“Although there will be several agreements, and here we need to discuss the direction,” the Ukrainian president added.
The details of these two aspects of the peace framework are what Zelenskyy is hoping to finalise with Trump, as these agreements are bilateral Ukraine-US in nature and do not require Moscow’s agreement.
Zelenskyy said he believed the security guarantees agreement between Ukraine and the US “is almost ready”.
“And the question of whether to sign it or not, in my opinion, is already a secondary issue, depending on the format in which our meeting takes place. That is why I believe this document is already on the table," he stated.
Without providing details on how the agreement could be signed at Mar-a-Lago on Sunday, Zelenskyy stated that he is ready to initial it.
If Ukraine and the US make progress on the issue of security guarantees, it would pave the way to more substantial talks regarding Ukraine’s territories occupied by Russia.
On Friday, Zelenskyy said the 20-point plan is 90% complete and that he saw the Sunday meeting with Trump as an opportunity to ensure that everything was 100% ready.
The most complicated issues remain around territorial control in Ukraine’s eastern regions and the management of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
Russia continues to assert maximalist demands, insisting that Ukraine relinquish the remaining territory in Donbas that it has not captured — a demand that Kyiv has rejected.
In an effort to facilitate compromise, Washington has proposed converting these areas into free economic zones. Ukraine, for its part, is demanding the demilitarisation of the area and the presence of an international force to ensure stability, Zelenskyy told journalists in a briefing.
The future management of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP), Europe's largest plant which remains under Russian occupation, is another contentious issue.
The US is proposing a consortium with Ukraine and Russia, with each party having an equal stake in the enterprise. But Zelenskyy countered with a joint-venture proposal between the US and Ukraine, under which Washington would decide how to allocate its share, assuming it would go to Moscow.
“Legally we will not recognize anything under any circumstances,” Zelenskyy told the reporters on Saturday, explaining that even without the recognition “this matter should be discussed with society.”
“Open question: either it’s a referendum or certain legislative changes,” he added.
And for this, he explained, the issue of security guarantees for Ukraine should be resolved first.
“If the American side raises the question about a referendum or about elections, this certainly cannot be done in the conditions in which we live today. Namely, with regard to the attacks.”
His comments came right after another massive attack that Russia launched against Ukraine on Saturday morning.
The 10-hour-long attack primarily targeted Kyiv, injuring dozens and killing at least one person in the capital.
“Today, Russia showed how it reacts to the peaceful negotiations between Ukraine and the United States regarding ending Russia’s war against Ukraine,” Zelenskyy commented on Saturday.
“Today, our most important consideration – if we take certain steps – is that security guarantees are strong and that we are protected.”
On Saturday, Trump told the New York Post that he thinks there’s “a good shot” at reaching peace, saying he believes Russia wants to come to an agreement.
"I think they want to do it now, and I think that Russia wants to do it. But every time one wants to do it, the other doesn’t," Trump said.