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UK prime minister Keir Starmer has said he’s eager to sustain the momentum of Ukraine peace talks as he spoke with Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders earlier today.
A Downing Street spokesperson said:
The discussion focused on ongoing efforts to secure a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, with leaders commending President Trump for the progress achieved so far.
They underlined the importance of robust security guarantees and reaffirmed the urgency of ending this barbaric war as soon as possible.
The Prime Minister emphasised the UK’s commitment to working closely with partners to sustain momentum in the coming days - with President Trump highlighting his leadership in driving coordinated international support for Ukraine as talks continue.
And while Trump and Zelenskyy were speaking earlier, Vladimir Putin’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev posted on X:
The whole world appreciates President Trump and his team’s peace efforts.
A reminder that Russia continued to bomb Ukraine today while Zelenskyy discussed his peace plan with Trump.
Zelenskyy says meeting produced 'significant results'
In a post on Telegram, Volodymyr Zelenskyy shared the remarks he made at the start of the joint news conference earlier, starting with thanking Donald Trump once again for a “wonderful meeting” at Mar-a-Lago today. Here’s an extract:
We had a meaningful discussion on all issues and highly appreciate the progress made by the Ukrainian and American teams over the past few weeks.
We discussed all aspects of the peace framework and achieved significant results. We also discussed the sequence of further actions.
We agree that security guarantees are key to achieving lasting peace, and our teams will continue to work on all aspects.
He also reiterates that the Ukrainian and US teams will meet next week to “finalise all discussed issues” and that Trump has also agreed to host Ukrainian and European leaders in Washington in January.
Trump claims 'good progress' but talks don't appear to have moved the dial - snap analysis
While Donald Trump has said “a lot of progress” has been made today in the “terrific” bilateral talks at Mar-a-Lago, there is little evidence that the summit has actually moved the dial on any of the major points of contention in the peace process.
Things don’t appear to have moved backwards (in itself progress, as this has happened before depending on who has had the US president’s ear), but there still wasn’t any sign of a breakthrough. Indeed, Volodymyr Zelenskyy went into the meeting saying that 90% of the plan was complete and came out of it saying 90% of it was complete, and Trump said only that they were getting “very close” to a deal. Neither offered up a timeline and said only that their teams would meet again in the coming weeks, with a subsequent meeting in Washington alongside European leaders also potentially on the cards.
Indeed Trump said “one or two thorny issues remain” and unexpected issues could arise and cause the process to fall apart. Trump called the issue of territory an “unresolved issue” but said he believed it could be resolved, though he didn’t say how. And Zelenskyy made clear that Ukraine’s position on the Donbas remained different to Russia’s. “We have to respect our law and our people and “the territory which we control,” he said.
And while the Ukrainian president did describe security guarantees – the “key milestone in achieving lasting peace” – as “100% agreed”, he added that their teams will continue working on this to “finalise all discussed matters”.
Trump also said that he believes that that trilateral meeting between Russia, Ukraine and the US could happen “at the right time” and appeared to suggest that Vladimir Putin “wants to see it happen” too. He’s been saying that for a long time and, along with the ending of Russia’s invasion, it doesn’t appear – for now, at least – to be anywhere in sight.
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Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Commission, has welcomed the “good progress” made in the talks today.
In a post on X, Von der Leyen said she took part in a “good, one-hour-long call” with Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders.
She stressed that more important than anything else would be “ironclad security guarantees from day one” for Ukraine.
There was good progress, which we welcomed.
Europe is ready to keep working with Ukraine and our US partners to consolidate this progress.
Paramount to this effort is to have ironclad security guarantees from day one.
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And that’s it, the press conference is over.
And asked whether Ukrainians living outside of the country could take part in a referendum to approve any deal to end the war, Zelenskyy acknowledges “they have rights for this” and adds that there needs to be infrastructure in place to make this happen.
Asked if Russia will have any responsibility for helping with the reconstruction of Ukraine, Trump claims:
They’re going to be helping. Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed.
Trump says talks could still fall apart and we'll know outcome in a 'few weeks'
Asked how long it could take to end this war, Trump says it could be a “few weeks”, but it’s possible the talks could still fall apart over unexpected issues that might arise.
In a few a weeks we will know one way or the other.
We could have something where one item that you’re not thinking about is a big item, breaks it up. Look, it’s been a very difficult negotiation.
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Asked about Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, one of the key sticking points in the talks, Trump claims that Vladimir Putin is “working with Ukraine on getting it open”.
As Trump adds, “He’s been very good in that sense. He wants to see that open,” Zelenskyy appears his shake his head ever so slightly but remains composed.
Ukraine has repeatedly ruled out working with Russia in operating the facility, and Zelenskyy’s proposal includes splitting control over it between Ukraine and the US.
“He [Putin] hasn’t hit it with missiles,” Trump adds.
It’s unclear what Trump is talking about here, as the reason Putin hasn’t bombed it is likely because his troops have occupied it since the invasion began.
Asked whether he would anticipate going to Ukraine if it might help to end the war, Trump says:
You know, I have no problem with it. We don’t anticipate it. We’d like to get the deal done and not necessarily have to go.
But Trump appears to leave the door open, adding that he’s offered to speak to the Ukrainian parliament, “If that would help, I don’t know if that would help. I think it would probably help, but I don’t even know.”
Zelenskyy interjects to tell Trump that he would “always” be welcome in Ukraine if he wants to come. Trump goes on:
I’m not sure that it would be really necessary, but if it would help save 25,000 lives a month or whatever it may be, I would certainly be willing to do that.
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Ukraine has 'different position' to Russia on Donbas, Zelenskyy says
Zelenskyy is then asked about his take on the Donbas issue.
He says we have to respect our law and our people and “the territory which we control”.
He says Ukraine’s attitude to Donbas is “very clear” and that Ukraine has “a different position to Russia”.
He also says in response to a subsequent question that the question of territory has to be answered by the people of Ukraine.
We can have [a] referendum on any kind of points of this plan. Of course, our society has to choose … because it’s their land … not of one person. It’s the land of our nation, for a lot of generations.
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Trump says issue of Donbas 'unresolved but getting closer'
Asked if there’s been agreement on a free trade zone on Donbas, Trump says it’s still “unresolved but it’s getting a lot closer”.
That’s a very tough issue but one I think we’ll get resolved.
Trump says 'one or two thorny issues' remain
Trump declines to put a percentage on the progress made, saying that “we could be very close”, adding:
There are one or two thorny issues, very tough issues, but I think we’re doing very well.
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy shake hands at the start of a joint news conference following a summit at Mar-a-Lago.
Zelenskyy thanks Trump for “a warm welcome and substantial discussion”.
Reiterating Trump’s remarks, Zelenskyy says the teams will meet in upcoming weeks to finalise the matters discussed.
Trump will host the teams in Washington in January, he adds.
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Zelenskyy says 20-point peace plan is '90% agreed' and security guarantees are 'key milestone in achieving lasting peace'
Trump invites Zelenskyy to speak.
He starts by thanking Trump and the Ukrainian and US teams. He says the teams today discussed “all aspects of the peace framework” and says the 20-point peace plan is “90% agreed”. (You’ll remember that going into the meeting earlier he said the same thing, that the plan was 90% agreed).
“We agreed that security guarantees are a key milestone in achieving lasting peace and our teams will continue working on all aspects,” he adds.
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Trump says it was an honor to have Zelenskyy at Mar-a-Lago and he hopes they enjoyed the food.
The working lunch reportedly featured chicken broth, steak and fries, and a chocolate cake named “Trump”.
'We've made a lot of progress,' says Trump
Trump says he and Zelenskyy have “made a lot of progress” in their “excellent” meeting.
“We covered, some would say, 95%, I don’t know what percent, but we have made a lot of progress on ending that war,” he says.
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He says they just spoke to the leaders of France, Finland, Poland, Norway, Italy, the UK and Germany, along with the Nato secretary general and head of the European Commission.
“They’re all great leaders, and we had a great talk with them,” says Trump.
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Trump and Zelenskyy speak to media following talks on latest peace proposal
And they’re here. Trump says they had a “terrific” meeting and may be “getting very close”.
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Further to that, Zelenskyy has just confirmed on Telegram that he’ll make a live statement with Donald Trump.
Trump and Zelenskyy have reportedly ended their call with European leaders now, following their bilateral talks.
Two podiums have been set up with the US and Ukrainian flags behind them, so if and when a press conference does get underway we’ll bring you all the key lines here.
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Donald Trump has said talks to end the war in Ukraine are in their “final stages” as he sat down for a meeting on Sunday with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Florida, and insisted that Vladimir Putin was ready to make a peace deal.
There were no signs, however, that Russia was willing to drop any of its maximalist demands. According to Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov, Trump “listened carefully” on Sunday to Russia’s assessment of the conflict. Both sides agreed that a ceasefire proposed by Ukraine and Europe would only prolong the fighting “and is fraught with renewed hostilities”, Ushakov said.
Meanwhile, Trump greeted Zelenskyy on the steps of Mar-a-Lago and offered him a businesslike handshake. There was no hug. US officials did not meet Zelenskyy when he arrived at Palm Beach international airport, in contrast to the red carpet reception given to Putin by an applauding Trump at their summit in August in Alaska.
One former Ukrainian diplomat, Maria Drutska, said Putin was trying to “sabotage things” by ringing Trump before he saw Zelenskyy. During their previous meeting in October in the White House, Trump rowed back on the delivery of long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine after a similar call to Moscow.
Putin wants Ukraine to hand over territory in the north of Donetsk oblast that his forces have been unable to capture. Zelenskyy’s counter-proposal envisages a demilitarised zone, with both sides withdrawing from the line of contact. The plan could be put to a referendum, providing Moscow first agrees to a ceasefire lasting from 60 to 90 days.
But fundamental problems remain, including the issue of security guarantees to prevent Russia from attacking again. Trump has made no military commitment to defend Ukraine. The original 28-point US plan was presented in November after talks with Russia and in effect demanded Ukraine’s capitulation.
Trump also declined to condemn the latest strikes on Kyiv and did not acknowledge that Russia – unlike, in his view, Ukraine – had deliberately targeted civilians. “I believe Ukraine has made some very strong attacks also. I don’t say that negatively. You probably have to,” he said, speaking outside his estate.
With Trump unwilling to pressure Russia, observers expect the nearly four-year-old full-scale war to continue. “The fundamental flaw in the current diplomatic push is the absence of the aggressor at the negotiating table,” Yuriy Boyechko, the founder of the charity Hope for Ukraine, said, adding:
Peace is not achieved by one side agreeing to terms with a third party; it requires the principal belligerent, Vladimir Putin, to commit to a ceasefire and withdrawal. As long as Russia is actively launching its heaviest attacks in months, it is signalling that it has no intention of honouring a deal it did not sign.
Luke’s full report is here:
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Recap: what's in the latest draft of the peace proposal?
Here’s a brief reminder of what’s in Zelenskyy’s 20-point peace proposal that he’s currently discussing with the Trump administration at Mar-a-Lago, which he reiterated today was 90% complete.
Zelenskyy wants Ukraine to receive (Nato) article 5-style future security guarantees to deter any future Russian aggression, and for Ukraine to maintain its armed forces at their current level of 800,000 troops. He also wants a precise date for Ukraine to assume EU membership.
On the particularly sensitive and complex issue of territory, under the proposal fighting in Donetsk would be frozen at the current battle lines, with Ukrainian and Russian forces withdrawing to create a neutral demilitarised buffer zone overseen by international forces.
The plan also calls for $800bn in aid to rebuild Ukraine’s infrastructure and postwar economy. Talks with the US on a free trade agreement would also be ramped up.
Zelenskyy is also proposing that Ukraine splits control of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant with the US, with Ukraine keeping half of the energy and the US allocating the other half as it pleases.
It’s also worth noting that the Ukrainian president has also stressed the importance of continued military assistance to Ukraine and putting further pressure on Russia to ends its war.
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In a brief post on X a short while ago, Polish prime minister Donald Tusk wished “good luck” to Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he began his high-stakes meeting today with Donald Trump.
A reminder that Ukraine (and Europe’s) future security against the Kremlin’s ambitions is among the issues at stake, and a call with European leaders will follow Trump and Zelenskyy’s summit.
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Here’s a snap from the Mar-a-Lago dining room where Volodymyr Zelenskyy and members of his delegation are sat opposite Donald Trump and the US delegation, which includes secretary of state Marco Rubio, defence secretary Pete Hegseth, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, chairman of the joint chiefs General Dan Caine, Jared Kushner, peace envoy Steve Witkoff and deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller.
The Ukrainian delegation includes Rustem Umerov, the head of Ukraine’s national security and defence council, the first deputy foreign minister, Sergiy Kyslytsya, and Ukraine’s new ambassador to Washington, Olha Stefanishyna.
And despite what Trump said earlier, it turns out the press was not invited. Journalists were reportedly allowed into the room briefly before abruptly being escorted out.
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We have more on the call betwen Trump and Putin that took place earlier, with the Russian president’s top foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told a briefing that the call was initiated by Trump and that it last more than an hour.
Ushakov said both leaders agreed that a temporary ceasefire proposed by the EU and Ukraine would instead prolong the conflict.
He added that Kyiv must make “courageous, responsible political decision” regarding the Donbas region. “Given the situation on the front lines, Kyiv needs to make that decision without delay,” Ushakov said.
Trump says he thinks peace talks are in final stages
Trump said he believes they’re in the final stages of talking and a “quick” end to the war could be possible, adding:
It’ll either end or it’s going to go on for a long time, and millions of additional people are going to be dead. And nobody wants that.
He said to another question:
I think we can move very rapidly.
Trump reiterated that they will also speak to European leaders after their meeting today, and the two leaders then turned and walked inside Mar-a-Lago to begin their talks.
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Asked why he came to Mar-a-Lago today, Zelenskyy said he hopes the talks will “bring peace as quick as possible”.
He said that 90% of the 20-point peace plan has been done by the Ukrainian and US teams, and they will be discussing points including the issue of territory.
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Trump dismissed a reporter’s question about security guarantees as “dumb”. He then added:
There will be a security agreement. It will be a strong agreement. The European nations are very much involved in that.
He added that the European nations “have been really great” and “they’re all terrific people”.
Trump said he has no deadline for securing an agreement to end the war.
A reminder that Trump has issued several deadlines to Vladimir Putin over the past year and in each instance the Russian president has largely ignored them, escalating his military offensive rather than making moves towards a ceasefire.
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Trump says he'll call Putin back after Zelenskyy meeting
Trump also said he would be calling Putin back after the meeting “and we’ll continue the negotiation”.
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“We’re going to have a great meeting today,” Trump said.
'I believe we have the makings of a deal,' says Trump
Trump said that he believes that “we have the makings of a deal that’s good for Ukraine and good for everybody”. “There’s nothing more important,” he added.
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Trump says he thinks Putin is serious about peace this time as Zelenskyy arrives for high-stakes summit
Zelenskyy has arrived. The two leaders shook hands and stopped for pictures. Trump has taken a few questions from reporters ahead of their meeting.
Asked whether he thinks Putin is serious about peace this time, Trump said:
I do, I do. I think he is, I think they both are.
He added in response to another question:
We’ve got to make a deal, got to get it done … I think both presidents want to make a deal.
He said to Zelenskyy that he would brief him on the call with Putin.
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Earlier we reported that the UK’s Keir Starmer had spoken with Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of the Ukrainian president’s meeting with Donald Trump.
We now have a readout from Downing Street of that call, in which Starmer reaffirmed the UK’s “unwavering support for Ukraine and its commitment to achieving a just and lasting peace”.
Both leaders also “welcomed ongoing diplomatic efforts and commended President Trump’s continued engagement in securing peace” ahead of today’s meeting.
Starmer also condemned Russia’s illegal invasion and its recent drone attacks on Kyiv, Downing Street said.
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While the details have yet to be disclosed, the call could be of potential concern to Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he waits to discuss the latest draft of the peace plan with Donald Trump, who over the last year has swayed back and forth between sympathising with Ukraine’s position and backing some of Putin’s most maximalist demands.
The meeting is due to begin in the next 30 minutes, so stick with us.
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Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has also just confirmed to state news agencies that the call with Trump took place. He also didn’t provide further details.
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Trump says he had 'good and very productive' call with Putin ahead of high-stakes Zelesnkyy meeting
Ahead of his upcoming meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Donald Trump said he had “a good and very productive” phone call with Vladimir Putin, without giving further details about the conversation.
He wrote on Truth Social:
I just had a good and very productive telephone call with President Putin of Russia prior to my meeting, at 1:00 P.M. today, with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine.
Trump added that the meeting with the Ukrainian president will take place in the main dining room of Mar-a-Lago, adding: “Press is invited.”
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Russian foreign minister says EU is 'main obstacle to peace' and European troops in Ukraine would be a 'legitimate target'
Meanwhile, in a TASS interview published on Sunday, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov called Europe the “main obstacle to peace” in Ukraine.
Lavrov claimed to the state-run news agency that the EU is “making no secret of the fact that they are getting ready to fight it out with Russia on the battlefield”.
“We see that Zelenskyy’s regime and his European curators are not ready to engage in constructive talks,” he said, adding that the Kremlin “appreciates efforts by President of the United States Donald Trump and his team to achieve a peace settlement”.
Lavrov added that if European peacekeeping troops were to be stationed in Ukraine “our Armed Forces would view them as a legitimate target”.
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Key differences remain on security guarantees and territorial concessions ahead of Trump-Zelenskyy meeting
While Volodymyr Zelenskyy is poised to push his 20-point peace plan for Ukraine when he sits down with Donald Trump later, key differences on the issue of ceding territory and security guarantees remain, per the Washington Post (paywall).
Last month the US backed a Russian demand that Ukrainian troops withdraw from the parts of the Donetsk region that Kyiv still controls and create a neutral demilitarized zone.
Zelenskyy has said that Ukraine will not give up any territory that Russia hasn’t captured, while Putin has demanded that Ukraine give up the entire Donbas region, moving little from his maximalist position.
The Ukrainian leader has instead proposed that both countries withdraw troops from the region for a neutral, demilitarized economic free zone with international troops and monitors to discourage future Russian attacks.
He also wants a security agreement with the US, a date for Ukraine’s admission to the EU and continued European military support, according to the WaPo.
Ukraine agreed to “many different compromises” in the plan, Zelenskyy said on Saturday. “If the whole world – Europe and America – is on our side, together we will stop Putin,” he said, adding that Ukraine needs military and financial support.
Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly said that the Europeans will largely be the ones taking care of their own future security.
He also appeared lukewarm compared to Zelenskyy’s optimism when he told Politico last week:
He doesn’t have anything until I approve it. So we’ll see what he’s got.
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Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he has held a “detailed” phone call with the UK prime minister Keir Starmer.
“We discussed preparations for the meeting with President Trump, as well as all our contacts with European partners,” the Ukrainian president wrote on X, saying he very much values the support from the UK.
“I informed him on the situation on the frontline and on the consequences of Russian strikes.”
The UK has been one of the leading donors to Ukraine, alongside the US and Germany, and has provided lots of military equipment, including tanks, air defence systems and artillery to help in the fight against Russia.
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Zelenskyy and Trump will hold phone call with European leaders during Florida meeting, spokesperson says
Zelenskyy and Trump will hold a phone call with European leaders during their meeting in Florida, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian president has just been quoted as having said by the Reuters news agency.
Zelenskyy arrives in Miami ahead of meeting with Trump
We have seen videos on social media showing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arriving at Miami’s airport ahead of his high-stakes meeting with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago to discuss the latest iteration of a 20-point peace plan.
Zelenskyy has said he plans to discuss the fate of eastern Ukraine’s contested Donbas region during the meeting at Trump’s Florida residence, as well as the future of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, among other topics (see this post for more details).
The Ukrainian leader is expected to meet Trump at about 1pm local time (1800 GMT). Stick with us as we continue to bring you the latest updates.
Zelensky has arrived in Miami for a meeting with Trump. pic.twitter.com/ifvrExxAmC
— KyivPost (@KyivPost) December 28, 2025
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Shaun Walker is the Guardian’s central and eastern Europe correspondent
Poland plans to complete a new set of anti-drone fortifications along its eastern borders within two years, a top defence official has said, after a massive incursion of unmanned Russian aerial combat vehicles into Polish airspace earlier this year.
“We expect to have the first capabilities of the system in roughly six months, perhaps even sooner. And the full system will take 24 months to complete,” the deputy defence minister, Cezary Tomczyk, told the Guardian in an interview in Warsaw.
Tomczyk said the new air defence systems would be integrated into an older line of protection constructed a decade ago. He said it would involve different layers of defence, including machine guns, cannon, missiles and drone-jamming systems.
“Some of this is for use only in extreme or war conditions. For example, these multi-barrel machine guns are difficult to use in peacetime, because everything that goes up must go down,” he said.
More than a dozen suspected Russian drones entered Polish airspace in September, in an incident that led to airport closures, fighter jets being scrambled, and damage to buildings on the ground as drones were shot down.
The foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, told the Guardian at the time that the attacks, which involved drones not carrying any ammunition, were an attempt by Russia “to test us without starting a war”. You can read the full story here:
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My colleague Luke Harding has filed an interesting story about how a group of volunteers and neighbours are trying to save Kyiv’s architectural heritage amid waves of intense Russian attacks. Here is an extract from his piece:
Saving Kyiv’s architectural heritage seems strange at a time when Russian missiles and drones routinely fall on the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the beginning of 2025, the Kremlin has dramatically stepped up its aerial raids. After each attack, workers board up shattered windows with plywood and try, where possible, to save residential buildings…
But Russia is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who knock down listed buildings, corrupt officials and a governing class indifferent or hostile to the city’s rich architectural history. The harsh winter climate adds another burden.
“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We don’t have real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist with the Heritage Kyiv group. He claimed the city’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, was friends with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses.
“Klitschko lives in an illegal building with a striptease club. His vision for the capital comes straight out of the 90s and Tony Soprano,” he alleged. Klitschko denies the claim, which he says comes from political rivals.
You can read the full story here:
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Trump and Zelenskyy to hold talks amid heavy Russian airstrikes on Ukraine
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy are to meet on Sunday to discuss a plan to end the war in Ukraine, amid continuing Russian attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, and scepticism that Moscow is willing to drop any of its maximalist demands.
Vladimir Putin has demanded Ukraine hand over territory in the north of Donetsk oblast that his forces have been unable to capture. Zelenskyy’s counter-proposal envisages a demilitarised zone, with both sides withdrawing from the line of contact. The plan could be put to a referendum, providing Moscow first agrees to a ceasefire lasting from 60 to 90 days.
But fundamental problems remain, including the issue of security guarantees to prevent Russia from attacking again. Trump has made no military commitment to defend Ukraine. The original 28-point US plan was presented in November after talks with Russia and in effect demanded Ukraine’s capitulation.
Full story here:
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The situation at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is stable and power is being supplied through one high-voltage line, the state RIA news agency cited a spokesman at the plant as saying.
An IAEA team is monitoring repairs near the plant after a local ceasefire brokered by the agency began. The work is expected to last several days.
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Zelenskyy says 'much can be resolved' before the new year ahead of meeting with Trump
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said ahead of his meeting with Donald Trump that Kyiv was doing everything to end its war with Russia but that ultimately securing peace would depend on its partners.
“These are some of the most active diplomatic days of the year, and much can be resolved before the New Year, and we are doing everything for this, but whether there will be decisions depends on the partners,” he wrote on the Telegram app in comments before talks in Florida.
He added that Ukraine’s partners should increase pressure on Moscow “so that the Russians feel the consequences of their own aggression”.
Zelenskyy is due to meet Trump for the latest round of diplomatic talks in Florida at about 1:00pm (18:00 GMT).
Their meeting at the US president’s Mar-a-Lago home will be the pair’s first in-person encounter since October.
In the days before the meeting, Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukraine’s capital, using missiles and drones to attack Kyiv and try to increase the pressure on Zelenskyy.
This morning, Ukrainians again woke up to reports of strikes in parts of the country, including in Kherson and Kharkiv.
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Russian forces struck an energy facility in the Poltava region, damaging technological equipment, Volodymyr Kogut, the head of the Poltava administration, wrote in a post on Telegram this morning, which detailed two recent Russian attacks. The post read:
Yesterday, during the day, the enemy attacked Poltava region twice. A missile was recorded falling in an open area in the Myrhorod district.
The Russians also struck an energy facility. Technological equipment was damaged. Energy workers are working to eliminate the consequences of the attack. Fortunately, in both cases, no people were injured.
We have not been able to independently verify this information yet.
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The Ukrainian military said on Sunday that it hit the Syzran oil refinery in Russia’s Samara region in an overnight drone attack.
The strike caused a fire and damages were still being assessed, Kyiv’s General Staff said.
Since August, Ukraine has intensified strikes on Russia’s oil refineries and other key energy infrastructure as Kyiv tries to reduce Moscow’s oil revenues, a vital source of funding for the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion, launched in February 2022.
Zelenskyy has offered to drop Ukraine’s ambition to join Nato in an attempt to show his willingness to reach an agreement.
In return, the Ukrainian leader and his European allies have been pushing for “article-5-like” security guarantees from Europe and the US, referring to Nato’s founding principle that an attack on one member country should be considered as an attack on all. It remains unclear whether Moscow would accept such terms.
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Volodymyr Zelenskyy has voiced optimism about the new draft of the plan to end the war, telling reporters on Friday that it was 90% complete: “Our task is to make sure everything is 100% ready,” he said.
The plan is considered an updated version of an earlier 28-point document agreed several weeks ago between the US envoys and Russian officials, a proposal widely viewed as favourable to Moscow.
Ukraine opposes conceding any land Russian forces do not currently occupy and is seeking robust security guarantees from the US.
In an interview with Politico last week, the US president, Donald Trump, said he anticipated a “good” meeting with the Ukrainian leader, though he offered no endorsement of Zelenskyy’s plan. “He doesn’t have anything until I approve it,” Trump said. “So we’ll see what he’s got.” The president’s comments underscore how tense the relationship is between the two leaders.
The White House has increased pressure on Kyiv to sign up to a peace deal, with Trump at times seeming to lean in favour of Russia, which has stuck to its maximalist positions throughout intensive negotiations.
After hosting Zelenskyy at the White House in October, Trump demanded that both Russia and Ukraine halt fighting and “stop at the battle line,” implying that Moscow should be able to keep the territory it has seized from Ukraine.
Before Sunday’s meeting, Zelenskyy said the key issues that remain unresolved include questions surrounding territory, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and funding for Ukraine’s postwar recovery. He said there also are technical matters related to security guarantees and monitoring mechanisms to be discussed.
Oliver Holmes is a Guardian journalist
Volodymyr Zelenskyy stopped in Canada on Saturday, where he met the country’s prime minister, Mark Carney, who announced an additional $2.5bn (£1.85bn) of economic aid for Ukraine.
Carney condemned the latest “barbaric” attack on Kyiv. He said: “We have the conditions, the possibility, for the just and lasting peace,” adding this requires a “willing Russia”.
Zelenskyy spoke by video call with European allies. French President Emmanuel Macron highlighted what he called the “contrast” between “the willingness of Ukraine to build a lasting peace and Russia’s determination to prolong the war that it started”, Elysee officials said.
The EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa said the European Union’s support for Ukraine would not falter.
“In 2026, the EU Commission will continue to keep up the pressure on the Kremlin, sustain our support to Ukraine, and work intensely to accompany Ukraine on its path toward EU membership,” von der Leyen said on Saturday.
Zelenskyy said he would hold talks with European leaders again after meeting Trump on Sunday. You can read more of the story here:
Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies Nabu and Sapo raided national parliament offices in Kyiv on Saturday as investigators alleged some MPs were implicated in a new graft probe.
A statement from Nabu, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, accused State Security Department guards of “resisting Nabu officers during investigative actions in committees of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine”. The anti-corruption agency did not reveal details of the investigation, but said suspects took bribes for votes.
Ukraine’s State Security Department said the anti-corruption detectives were stopped at first by security but later allowed in. An earlier corruption investigation has led to the resignation of the chief of staff to the president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It involved an alleged $100m kickback scheme in the battered energy sector, allegedly masterminded by a personal friend of the president.
Russia claims to have captured several settlements in Ukraine
Russian troops took control of the settlements of Huliaipole, Myrnohrad, Artemivka, Rodynske and Vilne in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, and Stepnohirsk in the Zaporizhzhia region, the Russian defence ministry has said. We have not been able to independently verify this information yet. It is not the first time Moscow has proclaimed battlefield advances before talks.
Russia currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory. During 2025, Russian advances amounted to 176 sq miles a month to the end of November, but at an estimated cost of 382,000 killed and injured.
There has been a significant clean-up operation in Kyiv in the aftermath of the Russian attacks on Saturday, which killed at least one person and injured at least 32 others, including two children, according to officials.
Rescue workers from the State Emergency Service have now completed work to “eliminate the consequences” of the drone and missile strikes, which officials said targeted energy facilities and civilian infrastructure, according to an update from the Main Department of the State Emergency Service in Kyiv.
Rescue workers have cleared rubble and inspected damaged buildings, it said. Over 400 rescuers were involved in the work, which was done with help from volunteer organisations and local municipal services.
Ukraine’s leading private energy provider said on Sunday it had restored power to nearly 750,000 households in Kyiv after a Russian drone and missile barrage killed at least one person and left hundreds of thousands of people facing freezing temperatures.
DTEK said consumers on Kyiv’s right bank were back to planned power cuts but that the situation remained “more difficult” on the left bank, where emergency outages were still in force.
Three civilians injured in Russian strikes in Kharkiv region, police say
Ukraine’s National Police has accused Russian forces of launching attacks (guided aircraft and drones) on settlements in Kharkiv, Bogodukhov, Chuguiv and Kupiansk districts over the past day. The police said three civilians in the Kharkiv region were injured and said they are documenting the “consequences of war crimes” by Russia.
On December 27, the Russian army struck the city of Chuguiv. The strike hit a residential high-rise building. A 66-year-old woman with an acute stress reaction sought medical help.
The Russians used drones to strike the territory of the Zolochiv community. The strikes occurred in the village of Baranivka. Private houses, outbuildings, and power grids were damaged.
A UAV hit a civilian car parked near a household in the village of Petrivka. There were no injuries.
As a result of UAV strikes in the village of Velykyi Burluk, private houses were destroyed. A local resident was injured. A warehouse and a mill were also damaged.
In the middle of the day, an enemy drone hit a civilian man walking from the village of Nova Kozacha. The 50-year-old wounded man was taken to a medical facility.
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Zelenskyy to meet Trump in Florida for talks on plan to end the war as new attacks reported in Ukraine
We are restarting our live coverage of the war in Ukraine as Volodymyr Zelenskyy is due to meet Donald Trump for the latest round of diplomatic talks in Florida at about 1:00pm (18:00 GMT).
Their meeting at the US president’s Mar-a-Lago home will be the pair’s first in-person encounter since October, when Trump refused to grant Zelenskyy’s request for long-range Tomahawk missiles.
The pair will discuss an updated version of a US-brokered plan to end the nearly-four year war, which Russia is yet to support.
In the days before the meeting, Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukraine’s capital, using missiles and drones to attack Kyiv and try to increase the pressure on Zelenskyy.
This morning, Ukrainians again woke up to reports of strikes in parts of the country, including in Kherson, where the State Emergency Service of Ukraine said one woman was injured after Russia launched “massive shelling”.
Zelenskyy has said the priority is securing US security guarantees in order to protect Ukraine against future Russian aggression. The meeting will also likely focus heavily on management of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, and control of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, which has been a major sticking point so far in the negotiations.
Moscow controls about 75% of the Donetsk region, and about 99% of the neighbouring Luhansk (known collectively as Donbas).
At a closed-door meeting with Russia’s business elite last week, the Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly reiterated his demand that Ukraine hand over the entire eastern Donbas region as part of any peace deal.
On the key question of the future of the region, Zelenskyy, who has so far rejected any territorial concessions, has suggested a “free economic zone” was a potential option.
Moscow has repeatedly insisted that Ukraine must withdraw from all of the eastern Donbas region, even areas still under Kyiv’s control.
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