Russia and Ukraine on Monday remained far apart on territorial issues blocking a peace deal, despite some progress on security guarantees for Kyiv following talks between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Trump said after meeting Zelenskiy in Florida on Sunday that the sides were “getting a lot closer, maybe very close” to an agreement to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, but warned that “thorny issues” remained.
Zelenskiy said two key points in a 20-point peace proposal were still unresolved: control of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, currently held by Russian forces, and the fate of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.
“Two questions remain: the station – how will the station operate? – and the territory,” Zelenskiy told reporters on Monday.
Highlighting the gap between Kyiv and Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ukraine must withdraw its troops from the remaining parts of Donbas it still controls, warning Kyiv would lose more territory if it refused a deal.
Read: Zelenskiy meeting Trump in Florida for talks on Ukraine peace plan
“We are talking about the withdrawal of the regime’s armed forces from the Donbas,” Peskov said.
He added that a call between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin was planned, though no date was given.
Security guarantees
Trump’s decision to host Zelenskiy in Florida had raised hopes of progress toward ending Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two.
Russia currently controls about one-fifth of Ukraine, including Crimea, annexed in 2014. It also claims the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Donbas, as well as Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, all internationally recognised as Ukrainian territory.
Moscow wants Kyiv to withdraw troops from parts of the Donetsk region it has not captured since its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Kyiv wants fighting halted along current front lines, and Washington has proposed a free economic zone if Ukraine pulls its forces back.
“There is no detailed concept for a free economic zone yet,” Zelenskiy said.
Russia has rejected a ceasefire to allow referendums on any territorial concessions by Ukraine.
Read More: Ukraine retreats in east
Zelenskiy said some progress was made on Sunday when the two sides agreed in principle on security guarantees for Ukraine, though Trump said the agreement was only 95% complete.
“I told (Trump) that we have been at war for almost 15 years, and would very much like the guarantees to be for longer,” Zelenskiy said, adding he had requested guarantees lasting up to 50 years.
Trump said he expected European countries to shoulder much of the responsibility, with U.S. backing. Russia has said any foreign troop deployment in Ukraine would be unacceptable.
French President Emmanuel Macron said progress was being made on security guarantees and that countries in the so-called “Coalition of the Willing” would meet in Paris in early January to finalise concrete contributions.
Trust remains low
Despite peace overtures and some prisoner exchanges, mistrust between Ukraine and Russia remains deep.
Russia launched heavy attacks on Ukraine before the Florida talks and has intensified strikes on energy infrastructure as winter sets in. Large parts of Kyiv were left without power on Monday as temperatures fell below freezing.
Trump said after a call with Putin on Sunday that he believed the Russian leader wanted the war to end.
“In my opinion, (Putin’s) actions do not coincide with the seemingly peaceful rhetoric he uses in his dialogue with the U.S. president,” Zelenskiy said, questioning Moscow’s commitment to peace.
Zelenskiy said he was open to any communication format with Russia, and a meeting could occur after Trump and European leaders agree on a peace framework. Peskov said no call between Putin and Zelenskiy was under discussion.
Putin has said Russia will achieve its objectives by force if Kyiv refuses to accept Moscow’s demands.
Several Ukrainians interviewed by Reuters in Kyiv expressed scepticism about a lasting peace.
“Putin doesn’t need territory; he doesn’t need Donbas – he wants to destroy Ukrainians. He destroys us as a nation,” said Nadiia Yevtushenko, a 57-year-old Kyiv resident.Latest News, Breaking News & Top News Stories | The Express TribuneAFPRead More
