Zelensky to hold Florida talks with Trump as US-Led efforts to end Ukraine war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced plans to hold talks with US President Donald Trump in Florida this weekend, as diplomatic efforts intensify to bring an end to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Zelensky said the meeting, expected on Sunday, would centre on a US-mediated 20-point peace framework and additional proposals related to American security guarantees for Ukraine, reports BBC.

At the same time, Moscow has confirmed continued engagement with Washington. The Kremlin said a senior aide to President Vladimir Putin had conducted further telephone discussions with US officials, stressing that Russia remained committed to negotiations. Russian officials have described the talks as making "slow but steady progress", but have remained silent on Zelensky's suggestion that Ukraine could withdraw forces from eastern Donbas if Russia reciprocated.

Kyiv has been pressing for firm US security assurances as part of any agreement. Zelensky has also floated the idea of turning parts of Donbas that Russian forces have failed to seize into a demilitarised "free economic zone".

Speaking to journalists on Friday, Zelensky said negotiations on the 20-point proposal were nearing completion. "Our task is to make sure everything is 100% ready," he said.

In a post on social media, he added: "We are not losing a single day. We have agreed on a meeting at the highest level – with President Trump in the near future. A lot can be decided before the new year."

Hours after news of the planned talks emerged, the mayor of Kharkiv reported that a Russian air strike had killed two people and injured several others in the northeastern city.

Zelensky and Trump have met multiple times this year. Their first encounter at the White House in February ended in a heated exchange, but relations appeared to improve during a more cordial meeting there in October.

The confirmation of the Florida talks followed Zelensky's disclosure that he had spoken for an hour on Christmas Day with Trump's chief negotiators, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Zelensky said the discussion produced "new ideas" for ending the conflict and described it as a "really good conversation".

One proposal under consideration by the White House would effectively create a demilitarised strip in eastern Ukraine, with both sides agreeing not to station troops there. The idea is intended to bypass the unresolved issue of legal sovereignty over disputed territory.

Zelensky indicated earlier this week that Ukraine could withdraw forces up to 40km from the eastern front line to form an economic zone, provided Russian troops also pull back by the same distance from occupied areas of Donbas.

Ukraine has already secured revisions to an earlier 28-point draft prepared by Witkoff, which had drawn criticism for favouring Moscow. Zelensky said the Florida discussions would examine several documents, including US security guarantees and a separate economic agreement.

He acknowledged, however, that territorial disputes remained the hardest issue to resolve, alongside the future of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest. Under a US proposal, Ukraine and Russia would share the electricity generated by the facility, which is currently under Russian control.

Russia is expected to resist several elements of the revised US plan, particularly those related to territory. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused "groups of states, primarily Western European" of attempting to undermine progress in the talks.

Putin has insisted that Russia must gain full control of Donbas, including the quarter of the Donetsk region still outside its occupation.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that further discussions between Russian and American delegations were planned, following last weekend's meeting in Miami between US negotiators and a Russian team led by Putin's envoy Kirill Dmitriev. Another senior aide, Yuri Ushakov, has also held phone talks with the White House, with more contacts expected, Peskov said.

Zelensky outlined the latest version of the peace framework earlier this week, marking the first official update since the original 28-point draft was leaked in November. The new proposals would see the US and European partners provide security guarantees based on Nato's Article 5, obliging allies to offer military assistance if Russia launches another invasion.

The plan would also keep Ukraine's armed forces at 800,000 troops, a figure Moscow has demanded be reduced.

Meanwhile, hostilities have continued. Casualties were reported in the central city of Uman and in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city. The Ukrainian air force said it intercepted 73 drones overnight. Russia claimed to have shot down Ukrainian drones and missiles, including British-made Storm Shadows, while Ukraine said it had struck oil and gas refineries in the Russian regions of Rostov and Krasnodar.