Zelenskyy-Trump Meeting: Last Chance for Peace in Ukraine?!

Zelenskyy looks to close out Ukraine peace deal at Trump meet

Zelenskyy-Trump Meeting: Last Chance for Peace in ...

PALM BEACH, Florida – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is slated to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump this Sunday at Mar-a-Lago, seeking the U.S. leader's blessing for a new peace proposal designed to finally put an end to the grinding, nearly four-year conflict with Russia. This is a crucial moment, and frankly, the stakes couldn’t be higher.

The 20-point plan, reportedly the result of intense negotiations between the U.S. and Ukraine over the past several weeks, is ambitious but notably lacks the critical stamp of approval from Moscow. The timing of this face-to-face meeting in Florida is particularly sensitive, following a recent and particularly devastating large-scale Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv.

This marks the first in-person meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy since October, when Trump reportedly denied Zelenskyy's request for long-range Tomahawk missiles. It's important to remember that this relationship has had its bumps, and Trump's support is by no means guaranteed.

During a stopover in Canada on Saturday, Zelenskyy struck a cautiously optimistic tone, expressing hope for "very constructive" talks. He didn't mince words when discussing Russia, asserting that Vladimir Putin had revealed his true intentions with the latest assault on the Ukrainian capital. "This attack is again, Russia's answer on our peace efforts. And this really showed that Putin doesn't want peace," Zelenskyy stated. You can almost feel the frustration and desperation in his words.

While in Canada, Zelenskyy also held a conference call with European leaders, who, according to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, have pledged their unwavering support for his peace initiatives. It's good to see a unified front, at least on the surface.

Of course, Russia views these efforts with suspicion, accusing Ukraine and its European allies of trying to "torpedo" a previous U.S.-brokered plan aimed at halting the fighting. The blame game continues, as always.

Trump, meanwhile, has been characteristically tight-lipped about the new peace proposal. "Zelenskyy 'doesn't have anything until I approve it,'" the president told Politico in an interview on Friday. "So we'll see what he's got." That's vintage Trump, isn't it? Leaving everyone guessing.

The core of the discussion will likely revolve around a plan to halt the war along the current front lines, which could potentially require Ukraine to withdraw troops from the east and establish demilitarized buffer zones. This would be Kyiv's most significant acknowledgment to date of possible territorial concessions. However, the plan reportedly doesn't call for Ukraine to relinquish control of the 20% of the eastern Donetsk region it still holds – a primary territorial demand from Russia.

Trump has repeatedly stated that ending the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza is central to his self-proclaimed second term as a "president of peace." However, the Ukraine war has proven to be a far more complex and intractable challenge than anticipated, and Trump has expressed his frustration with both sides for failing to achieve a ceasefire. Getting everyone to the table and agreeing is proving to be a herculean task.

In Canada, Zelenskyy emphasized the importance of security guarantees during the talks in Florida. "Security guarantees must be simultaneous with the end of the war, because we must be confident that Russia will not start aggression again," he emphasized. It's a valid point – without those guarantees, any peace deal could be fragile and short-lived.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who met with Zelenskyy during his stopover on Saturday, announced US$1.82 billion in f...

[Photo: The Canadian Press via AP/Riley Smith: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Saturday, Dec 27, 2025.]