Peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow resumed this week in Geneva, with former US President Donald Trump issuing a sharp warning to Ukraine, saying it “better come to the table, fast.”
The comments coincided with discussions surrounding a 28-point peace plan reportedly crafted by American and Russian negotiators.
The plan calls for Ukraine to withdraw its forces from the Donbas region, including areas that have not yet fallen under Russian control.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rejected any suggestion of ceding territory still held by Ukrainian forces, describing it as “unacceptable for the Ukrainian people.”
Speaking to Axios, Zelenskyy criticized what he called the imbalance of pressure on Kyiv: “It is not fair for Trump to pressure only Ukraine and not Russia. Emotionally, people will never forgive this.
“Never. They will not forgive … me, they will not forgive [the US].”
Expectations for breakthroughs were low as the second day of talks began. Officials from both sides remained firm on key territorial disputes and future security guarantees, despite reports that the United States has set a June deadline for a potential settlement.
Photos shared by Rustem Umerov, head of the Ukrainian delegation, showed the three delegations arranged at a horseshoe-shaped table, with Ukrainian and Russian officials facing each other. US envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were seated at the head of the table, flanked by US, Russian, Ukrainian, and Swiss flags.
Umerov emphasized the scope of discussions: “The agenda includes security and humanitarian issues. We will work without excessive expectations.” Zelenskyy added that the first day of talks had been “difficult,” accusing Moscow of attempting to drag out negotiations unnecessarily: “Yesterday’s meetings were indeed difficult, and we can state that Russia is trying to prolong negotiations that could already have reached the final stage.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov cautioned against anticipating developments too soon, noting that talks would continue into Wednesday, while providing few details about progress.
The stakes remain high. Ukraine’s short-handed army continues to fight a war of attrition along a roughly 750-mile front line, while Russian aerial attacks repeatedly strike civilian areas, destroying homes and infrastructure and leaving communities struggling with power outages.
Central to the Geneva talks is the fate of the nearly 20 percent of Ukrainian territory still under Russian occupation or contestation. Equally crucial are Ukraine’s demands for post-war security guarantees, ideally backed by the United States, to deter future aggression from Moscow.
With both sides showing little willingness to compromise, analysts suggest that meaningful progress may take weeks or even months, leaving strategic and humanitarian stakes hanging in the balance.
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