Ukrainian and Russian mediators are to meet in Geneva today for another round of US-mediated peace talks that the Kremlin says are likely to focus on land – the main sticking point in negotiations.
Russia and Ukraine also remain far apart on issues such as who should control the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and the possible role of western troops in postwar Ukraine.
US President Donald Trump is pressing Moscow and Kyiv to reach a deal to end Europe’s biggest war since 1945, although Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has complained that his country is facing the greatest pressure to make concessions.
Mr Trump pointed to Ukraine when asked by reporters on Air Force One what he was expecting from the talks. “Well, we have big talks. It’s going to be very easy. I mean, look, so far, Ukraine better come to the table fast. That’s all I’m telling you,” he said.
Mr Zelenskyy said diplomacy would be more effective with “justice and strength”, with the two-day talks set to begin. “Strength of pressure on the Russian Federation – sanctions pressure and steady, rapid support for the Ukrainian army and our air defence,” he wrote on social media.
Russia has demanded Ukraine cede the remaining 20 per cent of the eastern region of Donetsk that Moscow has failed to capture, something Kyiv refuses to do.
“This time, the idea is to discuss a broader range of issues, including, in fact, the main ones,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday. “The main issues concern both the territories and everything else related to the demands we have put forward.”
Mediators will gather in Geneva after Abu Dhabi hosted two rounds of talks that both sides described as constructive, despite failing to achieve a major breakthrough.
The latest meeting comes days before the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Tens of thousands of people have been killed, millions have fled their homes and many Ukrainian cities, towns and villages have been devastated by the conflict.
Russia occupies about 20 per cent of Ukraine’s national territory, including Crimea and parts of the eastern Donbas region seized before the 2022 invasion. Air strikes on energy infrastructure have left hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians without heating and power during harsh winter weather.
The Kremlin said the Russian delegation would be led by Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to President Vladimir Putin. However, the presence of Mr Medinsky has lowered expectations of any significant breakthrough in Geneva, with Ukrainian negotiators having previously accused him of lecturing them about history as an excuse for Russia’s invasion.
Russian military intelligence chief Igor Kostyukov will also take part in the talks, while Mr Putin’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev will be part of a separate working group on economic issues.
Kyiv’s delegation will be led by Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine’s national security and defence council, and Mr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff Kyrylo Budanov. Senior presidential aide Serhiy Kyslytsya will also be present.
Before the delegation left for Geneva, Mr Umerov said Ukraine’s goal of “a sustainable and lasting peace” remained unchanged. US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner – who will also attend talks with Iran in Geneva this week – are expected to represent the Trump administration at the talks.