The president of Ukraine, , does not want the negotiating effort to end the Russian occupation of his country to falter. For this reason, in a context of still unproductive meetings, he has gone public to resolve the dispute and has pressed until he can announce, early this Friday, that he will meet shortly with the president of the United States, the imperfect promoter of the contacts.
This new meeting with his American counterpart will take place in “the near future” or “soon”, according to the Ukrainian translations made by the international press, but, in any case, there is a rush. The Secretary of National Security of Ukraine, Rustem Umerov, has confirmed the possibility that this meeting will take place soon during a series of contacts with the American side, in the process that started last February and has not yet borne fruit.
“We are not going to waste a single day,” Zelensky said. “We have agreed to meet at the highest level with President Trump in the near future. “Much can be decided before the New Year. Glory to Ukraine!” he stated, according to a message broadcast in .
On Thursday, Zelensky already had a conversation with the United States special envoy, and Trump’s own son-in-law, Ivanka’s husband. Thus, he assured that his team “works tirelessly” to ensure that the plan for a possible peace agreement in Ukraine is “realistic, effective and reliable.”
Zelensky later said it had been a “really good” phone conversation. “We went into a lot of detail; good ideas emerged that we discussed. We have some new ideas in terms of formats, meetings and, of course, deadlines to achieve true peace,” he said.
Of assignments and proposals
Tonight, Zelensky said he would be willing to withdraw troops from the country’s eastern industrial heartland as part of a plan to end Russia’s war if Moscow also withdraws and the area becomes a demilitarized zone monitored by international forces. The proposal offers another possible compromise over control of the region, which has been a major sticking point in peace negotiations.
Zelensky stated that the US proposed the creation of a “free economic zone”, which, according to him, should be demilitarized. However, it was unclear what implications that idea would have for governance or development in the region. A similar agreement could be possible for the area around the nuclear power plant, currently under Russian control. He added that any peace plan should be put to a referendum.
Russia has given no indication that it will accept any kind of withdrawal from the territory it has confiscated. Indeed, Moscow has insisted that Ukraine give up the remaining territory it still controls in the Donbas, an ultimatum that kyiv has rejected. Russia has captured most of Luhansk and around 70% of Donetsk, the two areas that make up Donbas.
Asked about the plan, Kremlin spokesman Kirill Dmitriev said Wednesday that Moscow would decide its position based on information received by Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who met with U.S. envoys in Florida over the weekend. Peskov declined to give further details.
U.S. negotiators have held separate talks with Ukraine and Russia since U.S. President Donald Trump last month unveiled a plan to end the war, a proposal many say favors Moscow, which invaded its neighbor nearly four years ago. Since then, Ukraine and its European allies have worked to bring the plan closer to kyiv’s position. Zelensky acknowledges that determining control of the Donbas region is “the most difficult point.”
Meanwhile, in the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant project, the US has proposed creating a consortium with Ukraine and Russia, in which each party would have an equal stake. kyiv responded with a proposal for a joint venture between the two countries, in which the Americans could decide how to distribute their share, including giving a share to Russia.
Zelensky acknowledged that Washington has not yet accepted Ukraine’s counterproposals. “But we have significantly brought together most of the positions,” Zelensky said. “In principle, the rest of the consensus in this agreement has been reached between us and them.”
Servicemen of the 148th Zhitomir Separate Artillery Brigade of Ukrainian forces fire a howitzer at Russian troops near the city of Pokrovsk, November 23, 2025.
The greatest difficulties
The creation of a demilitarized economic zone in the Donbas will require difficult discussions about how far troops will have to retreat and where international forces will be stationed, Zelensky said tonight, adding that this should be discussed at the leadership level.
The US-Ukraine working draft also proposes the withdrawal of Russian forces from the Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Sumy and Kharkiv regions. Zelensky foresees that international forces can be deployed at certain points on the line of contact within the area to monitor the implementation of the agreement.
Ukraine also proposes that the occupied city of Energodar, which is the closest city to the Zaporizhia power plant, be converted into a demilitarized free economic zone, the president said. This point required 15 hours of discussions with the US, he said, and no agreement was reached.
For now, the US proposes that the plant be operated jointly by Ukraine, the United States and Russia, with each party controlling a 33% stake in the company, a plan that Zelensky called “not entirely realistic.” “How is it possible that after all this there is joint trade with the Russians?” he asked.
“How is it possible that after all this there is joint trade with the Russians?”
Instead, Ukraine proposed that the plant be operated by a joint venture with the US in which the Americans could independently determine how to distribute the power from their 50% stake. Zelensky said billions of dollars in investments are needed to get the plant back online, including restoration of the adjacent dam.
The working draft ensures that Ukraine will receive strong security guarantees that would compel its partners to act in the event of new Russian aggression. This would mirror the , which states that an armed attack against one member of the alliance constitutes an attack against all.
Zelensky stated that a separate document with the United States will detail these guarantees. It will detail the conditions under which security will be provided, particularly in the event of another Russian attack, and establish a mechanism to monitor any ceasefire. The document will be signed with the main agreement to end the war, he added. “The United States considers this an unprecedented step towards Ukraine. They believe they are offering strong security guarantees,” he said.
The draft contains other elements, such as keeping the Ukrainian military in and making Ukraine a member of the European Union on a specific date. Limiting the size of the Ukrainian army is a key Russian demand.
The document also proposes accelerating a free trade agreement between Ukraine and the United States, which wants the same agreement with Russia, Zelensky said. Ukraine would like to receive privileged short-term access to the European market and a strong global development package that would include the creation of a development fund to solicit external investments in Ukrainian industries.
Other points include raising funds for the reconstruction of Ukraine, with the aim of attracting $800 billion through capital, grants, loans and contributions from the private sector.
The draft proposal also calls for Ukraine to hold elections after the agreement is signed. Zelensky’s five-year term was scheduled to end in May 2024, but the elections were postponed due to the Russian invasion.
Ukraine also calls for all prisoners taken since 2014 to be immediately released and for civilian detainees, political prisoners and children to be returned to Ukraine.
In other developments, an explosion in Moscow on Wednesday killed three people, including two police officers, Russian investigators said, days after a car bomb killed a top general not far away.
An official at Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, known as GUR, said the attack had been carried out as part of an agency operation. Another agency official claimed that police officers had participated in Russia’s war in Ukraine, without providing details. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
