Ukrainian officials to meet Trump envoys in Geneva over more Russia talks

Relatives of those killed during the Russian occupation react at the Wall of Remembrance during a ceremony to mark the fourth anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in Bucha, Ukraine, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

KYIV, Ukraine — A Ukrainian delegation will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoys in the run-up to another round of trilateral talks with Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday.

Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, is due to hold talks with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on Thursday in Geneva, Zelenskyy told reporters.

A U.S. push for peace has already brought Russia and Ukraine to the table in Abu Dhabi and Geneva this year, but the talks have produced no breakthrough on key differences as Russia’s invasion of its neighbour enters its fifth year.

Thursday’s meeting will address details of a possible postwar recovery plan for Ukraine and discuss preparations for an upcoming trilateral meeting with Moscow officials, Zelenskyy said, adding that he has also tasked Umerov with discussing a possible prisoner exchange.

Ukraine expects the U.S.-brokered talks with Russia to take place next week, Zelenskyy said.

Witkoff said Tuesday he would meet Umerov in Geneva for talks that could be followed by a trilateral meeting in Florida.

The Swiss city is also expected to host a round of nuclear talks on Thursday between the United States and Iran.

Previous talks with Russia and Ukraine have largely resolved the question of security guarantees, Witkoff said. Both sides are engaging with the peace efforts, with almost daily conversations taking place between officials, he said.

Washington is not pressuring Ukraine to concede on any point, and the Russians have shown “some moderation,” Witkoff told the Yalta European Strategy -- an international annual leaders’ forum organized by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation in Kyiv.

On Tuesday, amid events marking the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion, Zelenskyy noted that Russia has not defeated Ukraine nor broken the Ukrainian spirit, despite Moscow’s bigger and better equipped army and heavy bombardment of civilian areas.

Ukrainian forces have in recent months pushed Russia’s army back at points along the roughly 1,250-kilometre front line in eastern areas of the country, according to the Institute for the Study of War.

The “significant gains” are the biggest since 2024, the Washington-based think tank said, though they are unlikely to grow into major offensives as Ukraine struggles with a troop shortage. Even so, they likely will disrupt Russian plans for a spring-summer offensive, it said.

Ukraine has also continued its almost nightly long-range drone barrage of military and allied infrastructure targets deep inside Russia.

The U.S. State Department has expressed its displeasure with Ukraine’s recent attacks on the ⁠Russian port of Novorossiysk on the Black Sea that have impacted U.S. oil interests in ⁠Kazakhstan, Kyiv’s chief envoy to Washington said Tuesday.

A Ukrainian drone attack on the Dorogobuzh fertilizer plant in western Russia’s Smolensk region killed seven workers, injured 10 people and caused a fire, Gov. Vasily Anokhin said.

Ukrainian authorities said Russia attacked with 115 drones overnight, including one strike on a village in the southern Zaporizhzhia district that killed four people and injured a child, the State Emergency Service said.

___

Kamila Hrabchuk, The Associated Press