U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy shake hands during a press conference after their lunch meeting at President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on December 28, 2025.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
President Donald Trump on Sunday said progress has been made in negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine war after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Florida, but acknowledged thorny territorial issues remain.
“I think we’re very close. Maybe very close,” Trump told reporters after leaving the meeting.
In his remarks, Zelensky said the peace talks were “really great discussions” in which U.S. and Ukrainian security were “100% agreed upon,” but Trump gave a slightly lower rating when asked about that part of the proposal.
“We agree that security guarantees are an important milestone in achieving lasting peace,” President Zelenskiy said.
In addition, the Ukrainian president said that President Trump will host talks with Ukrainian and European leaders next month to continue developing a peace plan.
When asked by a reporter what unresolved issues were, President Trump answered that it was about “land.”
“Some of that land has been occupied,” Trump said. “Some of the land may be for sale, but it’s likely to be occupied for months to come, so it’s better to sign a deal now.”
Trump said in a post on Truth Social early Sunday that he had a “very productive and successful phone conversation” with Putin prior to the Zelensky meeting.
Trump told reporters on Sunday that he planned to call Putin again after the meeting.
The high-stakes conversation at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort came at a critical moment in efforts to end the nearly four-year war that began with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.
Zelensky, who arrived in Florida early Sunday, said the two leaders would discuss economic and security agreements and “territorial issues” that remain the main points of contention between Russia and Ukraine.
President Zelensky told reporters this week that about 90% of his 20-point peace plan is ready, but it is unclear whether the outcome of the peace talks will be accepted by President Putin. Key obstacles to a deal with Russia include the Donbass region, which Putin covets most, U.S. security over Ukraine and the status of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.
Russia has reportedly moved into the battlefield in recent months, claiming control of more areas in eastern Ukraine, and officials have repeatedly urged Ukraine to abandon all of Donbas, including the parts still under Kiev control.
On Saturday, Russia attacked Ukraine’s capital and other areas with hundreds of missiles and drones, cutting off power and heat in parts of the capital, Reuters reported. President Zelenskiy called this a Russian response to U.S.-brokered peace efforts.
On December 28, at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. President Donald Trump met with a Ukrainian delegation led by Zelenskiy, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and Chief of Staff Susan Wiles, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy reacted. 2025.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
The peace plan includes the transfer of disputed territory to Russia and a call for a Ukrainian vote on a demilitarized “free economic zone” in Donetsk, the capital and largest city in part of the Donbas region.
President Zelensky on Sunday pointed to attacks on his country’s energy infrastructure amid peace efforts and suggested they were partly motivated by keeping pressure on Russia, including sanctions on Ukraine and defense technology.
“This is the most diplomatic period of the year, and many things will be decided before the new year,” President Zelensky said on social media X. “We are doing everything towards this, but whether decisions will be taken depends on our partners – the countries that support Ukraine and the countries that put pressure on Russia so that the Russian people feel the consequences of their aggression.”
Early Sunday, a Kremlin official said U.S. and Russian leaders agreed to oppose the temporary ceasefire being negotiated, suggesting that Ukraine needs to make “bold decisions” regarding the Donbas region to end the war.
“Importantly, the presidents of Russia and the United States share a similar view that the option of a temporary ceasefire, proposed by Ukraine and the European side in preparation for a referendum or under other pretexts, will only lead to a prolongation of the conflict,” Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov told Reuters.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social that his meeting with Zelensky will take place in the main dining room of the Mar-a-Lago resort, with reporters present.
In February, a meeting between President Trump and President Zelenskiy over a potential mineral trade between the two countries devolved into a public spectacle, with President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance accusing President Zelenskiy of being “disrespectful” to the US president.
