Zelenskyy-Trump meeting ends in Florida: progress made, challenges remain

Everything began at 8:00 p.m. Kyiv time. In local time, this is 1:00 p.m.. Initially, the negotiations were supposed to start at 3:00 p.m., but they were moved two hours earlier, as announced by the White House press service and CNN.

Trump: 'I believe we have the makings of a deal'

Speaking together with Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the entrance to Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump said that, in his opinion, Vladimir Putin is "serious about peace".

"Too many people have died and I think both presidents want to make a deal," Sky News quotes the American president.

"I do believe that we have the makings of a deal that's good for Ukraine, good for everybody. There's nothing more important," Donald Trump added. He emphasized that there will be a "strong" security agreement for Ukraine, in which "European nations are very much involved".

"I feel that European nations have been really great, and they're very much in line with this meeting and with getting a deal done. They are all terrific people," Trump concluded.

Trump hopes for a "quick" end to the war in Ukraine

Next, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy entered Mar-a-Lago to begin negotiations. At the same time, Trump managed to tell journalists that, in his opinion, a "quick" end to the war is, in his view, inevitable.

"It’ll either end or go on for a long time. Millions of additional people are going to be killed, and nobody wants that," Trump declared.

Trump was asked whether Putin truly seeks peace while shelling Ukrainian cities

One of the journalists asked Trump whether recent Russian attacks on Kyiv demonstrated that Putin is not serious about peace. This is mentioned in a BBC News report from the scene.

"No, he's very serious," Trump replied. 

"I believe Ukraine has made some very strong attacks also. And I don't say that negatively. I think, you probably have to. I don't say that negatively. But I think, he hasn't told me that, but there have been some explosions in various parts of Russia. It looks to me, like, I don't know. I don't think it came from the Congo," he said.

Trump added: "Look, the people of Ukraine want it to end, and the people of Russia want it to end, and the two leaders want it to end."

Zelenskyy also expects the negotiations to bring peace "as quickly as possible." He evaded answering a question about territories

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in turn, thanked Trump for his hospitality and said he hopes that the current negotiations "will bring peace as quickly as possible." 

When asked what purpose brought him to Florida to meet with Trump, Zelenskyy stated that their teams - Ukrainian and American - had been working on a 20-point plan, and today's meeting is dedicated to discussing strategies for advancing the plan, BBC News reports.

"It's very important our teams talk about strategy — how to make step-by-step, and to bring peace closer," CNN quotes the Ukrainian president.

He added that the teams have already discussed about 90% of Trump's peace plan.

Reporters asked the Ukrainian president whether he believes there will be territorial concessions, but he evaded the answer, saying that this question will be discussed today.

Next on the negotiations schedule was a joint lunch of the Ukrainian and American delegations. Then the negotiations continued in closed session. There were also international calls: Trump and Zelenskyy jointly contacted European country leaders, and after today's program at Mar-a-Lago concludes, after a joint final briefing, Trump is to contact Putin once more, for the second time today. 

The Ukrainian guests were treated to chicken broth, steaks with french fries, and chocolate cake named after Trump himself, as established by the publication RBC-Ukraine.

Trump and Zelenskyy have not communicated this long before

After 2.5 hours of negotiations, at 11:00 p.m. Kyiv time, a videoconference between Trump and Zelenskyy with European heads of state and government began, Suspilne reports. The next stage was a joint appearance by the U.S. and Ukrainian leaders before the press.

Final statements by Zelenskyy and Trump

The press conference of both presidents began at 11:50 p.m. Kyiv time. The event lasted 24 minutes.

Zelenskyy: peace plan agreed upon 90%

"We have a great achievements, a 20-point peace plan, 90% agreed, and U.S.-Ukraine security guarantees, 100% agreed. The U.S.-Europe-Ukraine security guarantees almost agreed. Military dimension, 100% agreed. We also discussed the sequencing of the following actions. And we agree that security guarantees is the key milestone in achieving lasting peace, and our teams will continue working on all aspects," the President of Ukraine noted during the press conference, which was broadcast by his press service.

As the president emphasized, in January 2026, following today's meeting and further discussions between Ukraine and the U.S., six main documents will be signed.

"We agreed that our teams will meet next week to finalize all discussed issues. And we also agreed with President Trump that he will receive Ukrainian and European leaders in Washington in January (2026 - ed.)," the head of the Ukrainian state added later on his Telegram channel.

The Donbas issue remained unresolved

This concerns the creation of a "free economic zone" in the part of Donetsk region currently controlled by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, from which Russia demands the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops.

Trump noted that this issue is "very complex" and will still be worked through, and Zelenskyy emphasized that the opinion of the Ukrainian people must be considered, because Ukraine and Russia have absolutely different positions.

Zelenskyy: a referendum can be held on a specific issue of the peace plan, or on the entire plan

"When we talk about a referendum, we say that it is one of the keys. We can have referendum on any kind of points of this plan. We can use a referendum for the plan as a whole. Or not use a referendum. This is only one of the keys. There is also the possibility to vote in parliament according to the law, or to hold a referendum.

Of course, our society has to choose, because it's their land, the land, not of one person. It's the land of our nation for a lot of generations."

Trump: Ukraine and Russia are "trying together to launch ZNPP"

"We discussed the Zaporizhzhia NPP. We were talking about one of the largest nuclear power plants in the world. We discussed the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant with Putin. He is ready to work jointly with Ukraine and make the facility accessible," the U.S. president said.

Trump is not opposed to speaking in the Verkhovna Rada

"I have no problem with going to Ukraine if it helps to end this war."

Trump believes that Russia will supposedly help in Ukraine's reconstruction

"They're going to be helping. Russia's going to be helping. Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed. It sounds a little strange, but I was explaining to the president that President Putin was very generous in his feeling toward Ukraine succeeding, including supplying energy, electricity and other things at very low prices," the U.S. president noted.

Trump expects sanctions to be lifted and U.S.-Russia trade to return

"Actually, a lot can be achieved through trade with Russia. They have wonderful land, wonderful minerals. We have what they need, they have what we need.

Bad people made up a lot of things and it didn't allow us to make a deal with Russia, and didn't allow Russia to make a deal with us. Despite this, I think we will succeed."

Who will provide security guarantees for Ukraine

"Europe will take on a significant part of the tasks related to ensuring Ukraine's security, but the United States will help," Trump assured.

If the Kremlin does not support the U.S.-developed plan, which Ukraine has almost fully agreed to

"Then the war will drag on for a long time, and millions of people will die in it," Donald Trump said at the end of the press conference.

What was at the center of attention

The head of state flew out of Ukraine on Saturday, December 27, and before the United States stopped in Canada, where during communication with Prime Minister Mark Carney (in person) and European country leaders (online) he went in detail through each of the issues that his Sunday meeting with Trump would be dedicated to discussing.

Already on the plane, answering journalists' questions in a voice chat, Zelenskyy listed which specific most important aspects were involved.

This concerns the practical implementation of certain aspects of the so-called peace plan developed jointly by Russia and the U.S., for which the special representatives of both states' leaders Steve Witkoff and Kirill Dmitriev were responsible, and currently being proposed to Ukraine by Trump. Initially, this plan had 28 points, which first appeared on the website of the British publication The Telegraph, and then, after intensive consultations involving Ukraine, the U.S., Britain, Europe and Russia, was reduced to 20 points.

So, according to Zelenskyy, the following will be discussed in Florida:

1. security guarantees for Ukraine from the U.S. and Europe after a probable ceasefire,

2. the future fate of the part of Donbas currently controlled by the Armed Forces of Ukraine,

3. elections,

4. a referendum regarding territories occupied by Russia,

5. post-war economic reconstruction of Ukraine,

6. under whose management the Zaporizhzhia NPP will operate and where the electricity from it will go.

At the same time, as the president emphasized, during negotiations with Trump he will not cross "red lines," however, regarding some issues he is ready for compromise.

It was expected that this evening in Florida, Ukraine and the U.S. might reach final agreements regarding the prospects for peaceful settlement of the Russian-Ukrainian war, and then the American side will transmit them to the Kremlin and await a response.

What Putin says about Trump's plan (Witkoff-Dmitriev)

On December 27, Putin put on military uniform and listened to statements from his military about the alleged capture of the Ukrainian cities of Huliaipole and Myrnohrad. The Ukrainian command assessed these reports to the dictator as fake. At the same time, the ruler of Russia once again stated that the "special military operation" he started, as before, is "going according to plan," and, essentially a day before Zelenskyy's meeting with Trump in Florida, commented for the first time on the proposals provided to Ukraine:

"In the West, too, smart people have appeared who recommend that the Kyiv authorities accept dignified terms for ending the conflict, provide good basic conditions for ensuring Ukraine's security for a long historical perspective, conditions for restoring relations with the Russian Federation and restoring Ukraine's economy."