Volodymyr Zelensky has announced that Ukraine’s lead negotiator will hold talks with senior US envoys in Geneva on Thursday, as preparations intensify for a potential trilateral meeting with Russia in early March.
Speaking to reporters, Zelensky said Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov would meet with US envoy Steve Witkoff, along with Jared Kushner, in what he described as part of broader diplomatic efforts to end the war.
“Tomorrow he will meet with American negotiators Witkoff and (Jared) Kushner,” Zelensky said, adding that the discussions were aimed at laying the groundwork for a trilateral meeting with Russia that Kyiv believes could take place in early March.
An adviser to Umerov confirmed that the meeting would be held in Geneva, which earlier this month hosted discussions involving Russian, Ukrainian and American officials.
The upcoming talks represent the latest diplomatic push spearheaded by US President Donald Trump to broker an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The conflict, now in its fifth year, has left tens of thousands dead and devastated large swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine.
According to Zelensky, Thursday’s agenda will include discussions on prisoner-of-war exchanges and what he called a “prosperity package” aimed at supporting Ukraine’s reconstruction.
Witkoff earlier confirmed the meeting, saying the objective was to “explore different iterations about how we might get to a peace deal.”
Despite renewed diplomatic engagement, significant obstacles remain. Moscow and Kyiv continue to disagree sharply over territorial control in any future settlement. Russia has pressed for full control of the eastern Donetsk region and warned it could seize the area militarily if Ukraine refuses its terms at the negotiating table.
Ukraine has firmly rejected those demands, signaling it will not agree to any deal without strong security guarantees designed to prevent future Russian aggression.
Whether the Geneva talks can bridge those divides remains uncertain, but both Washington and Kyiv appear eager to test new avenues for ending Europe’s deadliest conflict in decades.
