Zelenskyy reports progress in Ukraine peace talks with US officials

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed optimism about the progress of peace talks after meeting with Jared Kushner and US special envoy Steve Witkoff on Thursday.

Zelenskyy said the Christmas conversation focused on ongoing efforts to end the war and move toward a lasting, lasting peace.

“Had a great conversation today with President Trump’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff @SEPeaceMissions. and @jaredkushner,” he wrote, thanking X for their “hard work” and “constructive approach.”

“We are truly working 24/7 to bring closer the end of this brutal war that Russia is waging against Ukraine and to ensure that all documents and steps are realistic, effective and reliable,” Zelenskyy said. he said.

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Ukrainian officials have met with Witkoff and Kushner in Miami multiple times in recent weeks to discuss possible elements of a peace plan aimed at ending nearly four years of conflict.

Zelenskyy said on Monday that the draft peace framework had been reduced from 28 points to 20 points and included proposed security guarantees covering Ukraine, European allies and the United States, as well as a first draft of Ukraine’s post-war recovery.

The Ukrainian president said the framework includes a separate document on bilateral security guarantees with the United States, which will likely need to be reviewed by the US Congress.

Zelenskyy warned that some differences remain, stating that while the US continues its talks with Russian officials, both Ukraine and Russia have positions they are not ready to accept.

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Medics treat Valentina, who was injured during an attack on a residential area in Druzhkivka, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, on December 15, 2025. (Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu via Getty Images)

While Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a press conference on Thursday that talks between Washington and Moscow were progressing gradually, she accused unnamed Western European countries of trying to undermine the process.

According to Russia’s state-run Tass news agency, Zakharova said the talks were making “slow but steady progress” but were accompanied by what she described as “extremely harmful and even malicious attempts” to derail diplomatic efforts.

Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested last week He said Russia’s goals in Ukraine have not changed and that they will be achieved either through negotiations or further military advances if diplomatic efforts fail.

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the awarding ceremony of the Hero of Russia Gold Star medal following the annual meeting of the board of directors of the Ministry of Defense on December 17, 2025 in Moscow. (Alexander Kazakov/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

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“The objectives of the special military operation will undoubtedly be achieved,” he said, using the Kremlin’s term to refer to a full-scale invasion of Moscow in 2022.

“We would prefer to achieve this and address the root causes of the conflict through diplomatic means. However, if the other side and its foreign patrons refuse to engage in substantive dialogue, Russia will succeed in recovering its historical lands by military means,” the Russian leader told military officials, according to a transcript of the speech released by the government.