Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Friday that he and President Trump have agreed to hold a high-level meeting “in the near future,” offering the clearest sign yet that diplomatic efforts to end the nearly four-year war with Russia may be gaining traction.
“We are not losing a single day. We have agreed on a meeting at the highest level – with President Trump in the near future,” Zelenskyy said in a message shared on social media. He added, “A lot can be decided before the New Year.”
His comments follow what he described Thursday as a “good conversation” with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who are part of Washington’s broadened diplomatic push. Mr. Trump has intensified efforts to negotiate an end to the war, though those attempts continue to face deeply conflicting expectations from Kyiv and Moscow.
Earlier this week, Zelenskyy said he would consider withdrawing Ukrainian forces from parts of the eastern Donbas region if Moscow agreed to the same terms and if the area became a demilitarized zone overseen by international monitors. Russia’s position, however, remains unyielding. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova acknowledged “slow but steady progress” in dialogue, but the Kremlin has shown no willingness to retreat from territories it currently occupies.
Instead, Moscow has demanded that Ukraine surrender the remaining pockets it still controls in Donbas — a condition Kyiv continues to reject. Russian forces already hold most of Luhansk and approximately 70% of Donetsk.
Washington has kept open lines of communication with the Kremlin as well. Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, traveled to Miami for undisclosed meetings over the weekend, signaling parallel bargaining channels.
Despite diplomatic efforts, tensions remained high heading into Christmas. Russia continued missile and drone assaults across Ukrainian cities, while a Russian general was killed in a car bomb explosion in Moscow — an incident Russian media labeled a targeted attack.
Overnight into Friday, waves of Russian drones struck Mykolaiv and nearby suburbs, causing power outages across parts of the southern city.
Ukraine has continued to counter with its own long-range strikes. On Thursday, Ukraine said it used British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles to hit a major Russian oil refinery in the Rostov region. Ukraine’s General Staff wrote on Telegram: “Multiple explosions were recorded. The target was hit.” Rostov regional Gov. Yuri Slyusar confirmed a firefighter was injured while putting out the blaze.
Kyiv’s strategy of targeting Russian oil infrastructure is designed to cut off critical energy export revenues that fuel Moscow’s invasion. In turn, Russia is ramping up attacks on energy systems across Ukraine, a campaign Ukrainian officials describe as an effort to “weaponize winter” by depriving civilians of heat, water, and electricity.
