US special envoy Steve Witkoff said that discussions between Ukraine and Russia have made “meaningful progress” toward ending the war, as both sides got ready for the second day of talks in Geneva on Wednesday.
Still, there is not much hope for a big breakthrough.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said it is “not fair” that US President Donald Trump keeps asking Ukraine to give in, and he added that “peace won’t happen if Russia wins.”
Recently, Donald Trump has said it’s up to Ukraine to make the talks in Switzerland work, and he hasn’t mentioned Russia at all.
The Kremlin has not changed its stance and still wants Ukraine to give up a lot of its territory.
President Trump’s efforts to bring both sides of the war together have led to some real progress, and we are proud to work under his leadership to stop the killing in this bad conflict,” Witkoff wrote on X after the first day of talks.
Zelensky has said again and again that his country is being asked to make unfair compromises compared to Russia.
Russia controls about 20% of Ukraine, including big parts of the eastern Donbas area.
The Kremlin wants Ukraine to give up the rest of that region, but Ukraine has said no.
Ukraine says strong security promises from the West — including the US — must come first before any agreement with Russia can be made.
Zelensky told Axios on Tuesday that it was “not fair” that Trump kept urging Ukraine to make a deal, adding: “I hope it’s just his way of doing things and not a real decision.”
In a statement on social media on Tuesday evening, top Ukrainian negotiator Umerov said the first day of talks focused on “real issues and how possible solutions might work.”
In a video message later, Zelensky said Ukraine was ready to stop carrying out strikes, as the US had suggested to both Kyiv and Moscow.
“We don’t need war,” he said, emphasizing that Ukrainians were “defending our country and our freedom.”
“We are also ready to move quickly toward a good agreement to end the war.
The question is only for the Russians: What do they want?”
These talks are the third round of trilateral talks.
Russia’s state news agency RIA quoted a source saying the talks, which lasted six hours, were tense and took place in different formats — both bilateral and trilateral.
The talks are being led by Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the US president‘s son-in-law.
On the Russian side, President Vladimir Putin’s aide Vladimir Medinsky is the main negotiator.
The negotiations are happening a week before the fourth anniversary of Moscow’s full–scale invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian defense ministry said 43 Ukrainian drones were shot down over several Russian regions and Crimea overnight into Wednesday.
Ukraine’s air force reported that Russia had launched 126 attack drones at Ukraine overnight, and preliminary data suggested 100 had been shot down before reaching their targets.