Ukraine’s Zelenskyy Signals Fresh Diplomatic Push After Geneva Negotiations

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Kyiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the next round of talks involving Ukraine, Russia and the United States is likely to take place in Abu Dhabi next month, indicating growing readiness for a renewed trilateral format after negotiations held in Geneva. Zelenskyy said preparations were under way for discussions to move to the leadership level and reiterated his desire to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, arguing that only direct engagement between leaders could unlock progress.

Ukraine’s delegation in Geneva was led by Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, who said negotiators were working to finalise economic recovery and security-related elements ahead of the next trilateral round. He said a detailed framework on Ukraine’s reconstruction had been prepared with the American side and that the goal was to synchronise positions to ensure the upcoming meeting is focused on concrete and practical outcomes, including potential prisoner exchanges.

The US delegation included representatives of President Donald Trump, among them Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. On the Russian side, talks were also held in Geneva by President Putin’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who declined to comment publicly on the substance of the discussions, according to Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti.

Zelenskyy said he had spoken with Trump ahead of the Geneva meetings to align expectations and prepare for a broader negotiating session involving full delegations in early March. He stressed that the sequencing of talks was intended to open the way for direct leader-level negotiations, while Moscow has continued to express scepticism about such a meeting. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said it was premature to set timelines for any agreement, emphasising that Russia remains focused on what it calls its negotiating tasks.

Diplomatic activity, however, unfolded alongside intense fighting. Ukrainian authorities said Russia launched dozens of missiles and hundreds of drones overnight, injuring civilians in several regions, including Kharkiv, Zaporizhia and Kryvyi Rih. In the capital, Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said residential buildings were damaged and air-defence systems were activated, although no deaths were reported in the city.

Despite repeated rounds of US-led mediation, negotiations remain stalled over territorial disputes, particularly in the eastern Donbas, including the Donetsk Oblast. Moscow is pressing for control of the region, while Kyiv has rejected any settlement involving territorial concessions and insists on firm security guarantees to prevent future aggression, leaving the path to a comprehensive peace deal highly uncertain.

Photo Credit: X/@ZelenskyyUa