Donbas still unresolved, European leaders looped in: Key points from Trump-Zelensky meet

US chairwoman Donald Trump on Sunday said peace talks to end the Ukraine war are closer to a breakthrough than at any point so far, following his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

While major hurdles remain, especially over territory, both leaders said progress had been made on core issues, according to news agencies Reuters and AP.

Speaking at a joint news conference after the talks, Trump said he and Zelensky were “getting a lot closer, maybe very close” to an agreement to end the war in Ukraine.

However, he acknowledged that the fate of eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region, a key Russian demand, remains unsettled. Trump said a few “thorny issues” around territory still need to be resolved and that it would become clear “in a few weeks” whether negotiations would succeed, Reuters reported.

Trump refrained from giving out many details of the meet, both leaders offered few specifics and did not set a deadline for a peace deal. Zelensky said an agreement on post-war security guarantees for Ukraine had been reached, describing it as “the key milestone in achieving a lasting peace.”

Trump remained cautious, saying talks were about 95% complete and that European countries were expected to “take over a big part” of the security effort, with US backing.

Zelensky has previously said he wants to soften a US proposal that would require Ukrainian forces to withdraw completely from Donbas – a Russian demand that would effectively cede territory. While Moscow wants full control of the region, Kyiv has said any settlement should freeze front lines at current positions.

On Sunday, both Trump and Zelensky said Donbas was still unresolved, though Trump said talks were “moving in the right direction.”

The United States has proposed a free economic zone if Ukraine leaves the area, but Reuters noted it remains unclear how such a zone would work in practice.

“It’s unresolved, but it’s getting a lot closer. That’s a very tough issue,” Trump said.

Zelensky said any peace agreement would need approval from Ukraine’s parliament or be put to a referendum. Trump said he would be willing to address Ukraine’s parliament if that helped secure the deal.

Shortly before Zelensky arrived in Florida, Trump held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump described the call as “productive,” while Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov called it “friendly.”

Ushakov said Putin told Trump that a 60-day ceasefire proposed by the European Union and Ukraine would only prolong the war and insisted Ukraine must decide the Donbas issue “without further delay.”

Trump said the call lasted more than two hours and claimed Putin pledged to help rebuild Ukraine, including by supplying cheap energy, reported AP. “Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed,” Trump said. “It sounds a little strange.”

He also said that he was planning to speak with Putin again after his meeting with Zelensky. Meanwhile, Putin’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev backed Trump's efforts in a post on X early Monday.

Negotiators have also discussed the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, which has been under Russian control.

US negotiators have proposed shared control of the facility. The International Atomic Energy Agency said power line repairs had begun after another local ceasefire.

Trump said progress had been made and that the plant could “start up almost immediately,” calling it “a big step” that Russia had not bombed the site.

According to AP, Trump and Zelensky called a group of European leaders after their meeting, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the leaders of Finland, France, Germany, the UK and Poland.

Zelensky said Trump had agreed to host European leaders again, possibly at the White House, in January. Trump said the meeting could be in Washington or “someplace.”

“Ukraine is ready for peace,” Zelensky said, thanking Trump for his efforts, AP reported.

Putin has publicly insisted that all Russian-occupied parts of four Ukrainian regions, along with Crimea, be recognised as Russian territory. He has also demanded Ukraine withdraw from areas Moscow has not captured — demands Kyiv has rejected.

The Kremlin has further demanded Ukraine abandon its NATO bid and warned that any NATO troop deployment would be seen as a “legitimate target.”

While negotiations appear closer than before, Sunday’s talks made clear that the hardest political decisions — especially on land and long-term security — are still ahead.

Despite diplomatic movement, fighting continued. A day before Zelensky arrived in Florida, Russian forces launched hundreds of missiles and drones at Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine, knocking out power and heat in parts of the capital.

Zelensky described the attacks as Russia’s response to US-brokered peace efforts.

Russia currently controls all of Crimea, annexed in 2014, and about 12% of Ukraine’s territory since its invasion nearly four years ago, including roughly 90% of Donbas and large parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, according to Russian estimates.

(With inputs from news agency Reuters and AP)

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