U.S. President Donald Trump, proper, and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shake fingers. File
| Picture Credit score: AP
U.S. President Donald Trump spoke together with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy forward of a contemporary spherical of talks on Thursday (February 26, 2026) geared toward ending Russia’s invasion, either side mentioned on Wednesday (February 25, 2026).
A White Home official gave AFP no additional particulars concerning the name, which got here a day earlier than Ukrainian and U.S. envoys had been to satisfy, and forward of recent trilateral talks with Russia anticipated in early March.
However Mr. Zelenskyy wrote on social media that he had spoken with Mr. Trump, and that his Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had been on the decision.
“Our groups work intensively, and I thanked them for all their work and for his or her energetic involvement within the negotiations and the efforts to finish the struggle,” he added.
In keeping with Ukrainian presidential adviser Dmytro Lytvyn, the dialog “lasted about half-hour”.
Ukraine’s lead negotiator Rustem Umerov will meet Witkoff and Kushner in Geneva on Thursday (February 26), Kyiv introduced.
Russian state information company Tass later mentioned that the Kremlin’s financial affairs envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, additionally plans to be within the metropolis.
“Dmitriev plans to reach in Geneva on Thursday to pursue negotiations with the Individuals on financial points,” it cited an unnamed supply as saying.
The conferences are the newest spherical of negotiations spearheaded by Mr. Trump that to this point have didn’t make significant progress on ending Europe’s deadliest battle since World Struggle II.
Washington is pushing to deliver an finish to the struggle triggered by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine 4 years in the past, which has left tons of of hundreds useless and destroyed swathes of territory, significantly in japanese and southern Ukraine.
Preparatory talks
Mr. Zelenskyy mentioned his name with Mr. Trump “mentioned the problems that our representatives will handle tomorrow in Geneva through the bilateral assembly, in addition to preparations for the following assembly of the total negotiating groups in a trilateral format on the very starting of March”.
“We count on this assembly to create a chance to maneuver talks to the leaders’ degree. President Trump helps this sequence of steps. That is the one solution to resolve all of the complicated and delicate points and eventually finish the struggle,” he added.
The Ukrainian chief has already mentioned {that a} assembly together with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, ought to happen to resolve essentially the most tough points within the talks.
The talks, based mostly on an American plan unveiled on the finish of final yr, are deadlocked totally on the destiny of the Donbas, the economic area in japanese Ukraine that has been the epicentre of the preventing.
Russia is pushing for full management of Ukraine’s japanese Donetsk area, and has threatened to take it by pressure if Kyiv doesn’t cave on the negotiating desk.
However Ukraine has rejected the demand and signalled it could not signal a deal with out safety ensures that deter Russia from invading once more.
Revealed – February 26, 2026 03:00 am IST