(Update: 3rd, 4th and 5th paragraphs)
KIEV/PALM BEACH (dpa-AFX) – Before a highly anticipated meeting with US President Donald Trump, Ukrainian head of state Volodymyr Zelensky called on his country’s Western partners to maintain all sanctions and political pressure against Russia. With its daily air strikes, Russia shows that it has no interest in a peace agreement, he wrote on X.
This week alone, Russia fired more than 2,100 attack drones, around 800 glide bombs and 94 missiles. “Everything against our people, against life and everything that makes it normal – especially against our energy infrastructure,” he wrote.
Familiar pattern: Shortly before the meeting, Trump telephones Putin
Shortly before the meeting with Zelenskyj at 1:00 p.m. local time (7:00 p.m. CET) in Florida, Trump phoned the Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin. The conversation went “well and very productive,” the Republican wrote on the Truth Social platform without providing further details about the content. The Kremlin also confirmed the conversation.
It is not the first time that the US President has spoken to Putin on the phone shortly before a meeting with Zelensky. When the Ukrainian was at the White House in October to ask the US for approval to sell the US Tomahawk cruise missile to Kiev, Trump had spoken to Putin on the phone the day before. Zelensky did not get the tomahawk weapon back then.
Meeting at Mar-a-Lago: No viable agreement expected
Zelenskyj’s conversation with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence is supposed to be about ways to end the Russian war of aggression. However, Moscow representatives are not there, which is why a viable agreement between the warring parties in Florida is not expected.
Zelensky wants to make it clear to Trump that capitulation and a peace solution dictated by the Kremlin are out of the question for Kiev and also asks for more anti-aircraft systems. The USA sees itself as a mediator in the conflict. Ukraine has been defending itself against the Russian invasion with Western help for almost four years.
Before his meeting with Trump, Zelensky called on supporters to put more pressure on Russia. Ukraine is doing everything it can to end the war, “but whether decisions are made depends on the partners,” Zelenskyj said on Telegram after his arrival in the United States. “Some of the most active diplomatic days of the year are currently taking place, and a lot can be decided before the New Year,” Zelensky said.
The sticking point is the cession of territory
“Of course there are red lines for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people,” Zelensky said in a statement on his Telegram channel before the meeting in Florida. The Ukrainian had always categorically rejected the cession of those parts of the Donetsk region that Russia did not yet control, which Trump had also demanded. There are compromise proposals for the outstanding territorial issues, said Zelensky. The point is one of the most critical on the way to an agreement.
20-point peace plan
The Ukrainian head of state wants to talk to Trump about the 20 points he presented on Christmas Eve for a possible peace plan. The core issue is the security guarantees for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire in order to be permanently protected against a new Russian attack. Russia sees most of Zelensky’s points as contradicting his positions.
Zelensky: Grateful for EU help, but Ukraine needs more
Zelensky also said that there were parallel negotiations with the Europeans on security guarantees. He expressed his gratitude that the EU had decided on further financial support in the form of billions of euros in loans for Ukraine. “But frankly, there is always a lack of money, especially for the production of weapons and especially drones,” he said.
Before the meeting with Trump, the Ukrainian head of state said that he also wanted to talk to the US President about investments for the reconstruction of Ukraine after the end of the war. To do this, funds would have to be founded and up to 800 billion US dollars (679 billion euros) would have to be raised.
Zelensky assumes that Trump will once again insist on elections in Ukraine. The Ukrainian president, whose term officially expired in 2024 but was extended due to martial law, could be re-legitimized through a vote. According to Zelensky, the Kremlin is demanding that Ukrainian refugees in Russia – hundreds of thousands of them – be able to take part in the vote. The Ukrainian said that Russia’s leadership itself was not legitimate. Elections in Russia have been criticized as neither fair nor free.
Allies pledge support for Zelensky
Ukraine’s allies supported Zelenskyj before his meeting with Trump over a telephone call on Saturday. “The eleven heads of state and government from Europe and Canada as well as the heads of NATO and the EU assured Ukraine of their full support and emphasized that they would work in close coordination with the USA for a sustainable and just peace in Ukraine,” said a spokesman for the federal government in Berlin. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who also took part in the conversation, made similar comments.
At Selenskyj’s request, Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) invited people to the telephone switch in the format of the recent Berlin meeting. French President Emmanuel Macron emphasized that Europeans must be fully involved in the discussions that affect them, according to Élysée circles. In January, Macron will host another meeting of the Coalition of the Willing in Paris.
Zelenskyj wrote on Telegram after the telephone switch that he wanted to continue the conversation with the allies on Sunday after the meeting with President Trump. “We need a strong position both at the front and in diplomacy so that Putin cannot manipulate and prevent a real and just end to the war.”
Putin in uniform claims new conquests in Ukraine
Before Zelenskyj’s new meeting with Trump, Putin appeared in uniform and demonstratively let his general staff inform him about alleged new conquests in Ukraine. Putin said that Russia could also take over the Donbass – which includes the Donetsk and Luhansk regions – militarily. In a video clip released by the Kremlin on Saturday evening, he accused Zelensky of having no interest in a peace agreement. Zelensky rejects the withdrawal of his troops from Donbass.
“And if the power apparatus in Kiev is not ready to settle the matter peacefully, then we will solve all the tasks before us by force of arms as part of the special military operation,” Putin said. Special military operation is the official name in Russia for the war of aggression against Ukraine that began in 2022.
Moscow wants to take Myrnohrad and Hulyaypole
Russia claimed the city of Myrnohrad in Donetsk Oblast had been captured. After the capture of Siversk in the north of the Donetsk region, the way to the large city of Slovyansk is now clear, claimed Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov. He said Russian troops were advancing along the entire front line.
According to Russian military information, the city of Hulyaypole in the Zaporizhia region was also captured. A spokesman for the Ukrainian military spoke at midday of fierce fighting around Hulyaypole and unsuccessful Russian attacks. Within a few hours, Russia lost 400 soldiers there. The information could not be independently verified./mau/DP/he