Zelenskyy speaks with Trump about peace efforts, eyes leaders-level talks 

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke with US President Donald Trump about ongoing peace negotiations with Russia, which he expects to soon progress into a leaders-level meeting.

Zelenskyy said the phone conversation, joined by US envoy Steve Witkoff and adviser Jared Kushner, took place Wednesday night before US and Ukrainian officials meet in Geneva for more discussions.

The call lasted half an hour, according to Ukrainian presidential adviser Dmytro Lytvyn.

Trump and Zelenskyy covered issues on the agenda for the meeting, as well as preparations for the next round of trilateral discussions including Russian officials, expected in early March.

“We expect this meeting to create an opportunity to move talks to the leaders’ level,” said Zelenskyy, adding that would be “the only way to resolve all the complex and sensitive issues and finally end the war”.

The Ukrainian president previously called for a direct meeting with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to tackle outstanding issues in negotiations.

Thursday’s meeting in Geneva brings together Ukraine’s lead negotiator, Rustem Umerov, and Kushner and Witkoff, said Kyiv.

It will address details of a possible post-war recovery plan for Ukraine, preparations for the upcoming trilateral meeting with Moscow officials in March, and a potential prisoner swap, according to Zelenskyy.

Separately, Russia’s economic affairs envoy Kirill Dmitriev will be in the city to meet US negotiators “on economic issues”, the state-run TASS news agency cited an unnamed diplomatic source as saying.

The flurry of talks are part of a renewed peace push spearheaded by Trump that have yet to produce a breakthrough to end the four-year war, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people, upended life for millions of Ukrainians, and sparked far-reaching security concerns in Europe.

Addressing a news conference in ‌Kyiv earlier alongside Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere, Zelenskiy said Thursday’s meeting would include discussion of a “prosperity package”.

Zelenskyy said the US wanted to find a way to end as soon as possible Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II. But Moscow and Kyiv remain far apart in their positions.

“In my opinion, the difficulties are not at the military level right now. The problem lies in the political will to end this war and in the issue of territories,” Zelenskyy said.

“I think that trilateral talks will be held in early March. Tomorrow, economic documents will be prepared at a bilateral meeting between Ukraine and the United States.”

The latest assessment from the World Bank released on Monday showed rebuilding Ukraine’s economy will cost an estimated $588bn.

Since starting direct talks in January, Russia and Ukraine appear deadlocked on major issues of territory and security guarantees.

Moscow wants Kyiv to cede control of the Donbas, its industrial heartland, which Moscow mostly occupies but has failed to seize completely. Ukraine has rejected that demand and said it will not sign a deal without security guarantees from its allies, including the US, to deter a future Russian invasion.

On Tuesday, Zelenskyy delivered a message of resolve on the four-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion, saying Moscow has failed to break Ukrainians’ spirit or win the war it started.

The Kremlin acknowledged it has not fully achieved its war goals and said it would continue fighting until it does.