Ukrainians are the ones who have to vote, because it is their land.
Trump claims 95% agreement reached between Ukraine and Russia, with peace deal possible within two weeks, though sensitive issues like Donbass control remain contentious. Zelensky insists Ukrainians must vote on territorial concessions, while Russia demands full Donbass cession and long-term peace over temporary ceasefire proposals.
- Trump claims 95% progress on a 20-point peace plan after meeting Zelensky at Mar-a-Lago on December 28
- Russia controls approximately 75% of Donetsk and 99% of Luhansk in the Donbass region
- Massive Russian missile and drone strikes hit Kyiv on December 27, the day before the meeting
- Zelensky insists territorial decisions must be made by Ukrainian voters, not negotiators
Trump met with Zelensky at Mar-a-Lago and declared Ukraine and Russia are very close to a peace agreement, citing 95% progress on a 20-point plan, though key territorial disputes remain unresolved.
Donald Trump received Volodymyr Zelensky at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday afternoon, December 28th, emerging from roughly two hours of closed-door talks to declare that a peace settlement between Ukraine and Russia was within reach. Speaking to reporters afterward, Trump said he believed both leaders wanted to end the nearly four-year conflict, and that negotiators had achieved progress on 95 percent of a twenty-point peace proposal that Ukraine had refined from Trump's original twenty-eight-point framework offered the previous month.
The optimism, however, came with significant caveats. Trump offered no concrete timeline beyond a vague reference to "around two weeks" for a potential ceasefire announcement, and he acknowledged that "one or two sensitive points" remained unresolved. Chief among these were the fate of the Donbass region—the strategic eastern territory that Russia controls largely and wants Ukraine to cede entirely—and the future of the Zaporíjia nuclear plant, currently under Russian occupation. "This isn't something you resolve in a day," Trump told journalists. "It's very complicated. I don't want to say when, but I think we're going to get it done."
Zelensky, for his part, struck a different note. When asked about territorial concessions to Russia, he insisted that any decision about Ukrainian land must ultimately rest with the Ukrainian people themselves. "You know our position," he said. "We have to respect our law and our people. We respect the territory we control. Ukrainians are the ones who have to vote, because it is their land. It is the land of our nation for many generations." The meeting had been announced with only two days' notice and was attended remotely by several European leaders, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who joined a one-hour video call with Trump and Zelensky.
Before Zelensky arrived, Trump had posted on Truth Social that he'd just completed a "very good and productive" phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin's foreign policy advisor, Yuri Ushakov, confirmed the conversation and stated that both men agreed a long-term peace agreement would be preferable to the temporary ceasefire that Ukraine and European partners were proposing. Ushakov added that Kyiv needed to make a "courageous and responsible political decision" regarding Donbass—language that reflected Moscow's demand for full Ukrainian withdrawal from the region. Russia currently controls roughly 75 percent of Donetsk and approximately 99 percent of neighboring Luhansk; together these provinces comprise Donbass.
On the question of Zaporíjia, Trump again defended Putin, suggesting the Russian leader was open to working with Ukraine on the nuclear facility. Ukraine has repeatedly stated it will not cooperate with Russia on this issue. This was Trump and Zelensky's first meeting since October, when Trump had rejected Zelensky's request for long-range Tomahawk missiles. The Ukrainian leader had been pressing for this meeting for weeks, since the United States resumed diplomatic efforts to broker a settlement.
Trump has made ending the wars in Ukraine and Gaza central to his second term, positioning himself as a peacemaker. Yet he has acknowledged that resolving the Ukraine conflict has proven far more difficult than he anticipated. On Sunday, he suggested that Putin and Zelensky might even meet "at the right moment" and indicated that Putin wanted such a meeting to happen.
Zelensky, however, has grown skeptical in recent days about whether Moscow is genuinely committed to peace or simply buying time. The massive Russian missile and drone strikes against Kyiv on Saturday—the day before the Mar-a-Lago meeting—reinforced his doubts. "Russia continues to torment our cities and our people," he wrote on social media. "Moscow rejected even ceasefire proposals for Christmas and is intensifying the brutality of its missile and drone attacks. This is a clear sign of how they really view diplomacy there." Von der Leyen, meanwhile, emphasized that Europe stood ready to work with Ukraine and American partners to consolidate progress, but stressed that "unshakeable security guarantees from day one" would be fundamental to any agreement. Zelensky announced that he and European leaders would meet with Trump again in Washington in January.
Notable Quotes
This isn't something you resolve in a day. It's very complicated. I don't want to say when, but I think we're going to get it done.— Donald Trump, after meeting with Zelensky
Russia continues to torment our cities and our people. Moscow rejected even ceasefire proposals for Christmas and is intensifying the brutality of its missile and drone attacks.— Volodymyr Zelensky, on social media regarding Russian attacks
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why would Trump claim 95 percent progress when the two most contentious issues—Donbass and the nuclear plant—remain unresolved?
Because in negotiation language, "progress" often means agreement on procedural matters, principles, or less contested points. The hard territorial questions are what's left, which is precisely why he can't name a real deadline.
Zelensky's insistence on a popular vote about territorial concessions—is that a negotiating position or a genuine constraint?
It's both. Domestically, he cannot appear to be surrendering Ukrainian land without his people's consent. But it's also a way to push back against pressure to concede immediately. It buys time and shifts responsibility.
Why would Russia reject a temporary ceasefire in favor of a long-term agreement?
A temporary ceasefire leaves the door open for renewed fighting. A long-term agreement, from Moscow's perspective, locks in territorial gains and prevents Ukraine from rearming or rejoining NATO. It's about permanence, not peace.
The missile attacks on Kyiv the day before the meeting—was that a negotiating tactic?
It could be. Russia may have been signaling that it won't be pressured into concessions, or it may simply reflect the fact that the war continues regardless of diplomatic theater. Either way, it undermined Trump's optimism.
What does Trump actually want from this?
He wants to claim victory—to say he ended a war that Biden couldn't. Whether the agreement holds or what it costs Ukraine is secondary to the political narrative he can sell at home.
And what does Zelensky want?
Security guarantees that actually mean something, and a settlement that doesn't require him to surrender so much territory that his own government falls. He's trapped between Trump's pressure and his people's expectations.