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Zelensky says Russia “does not want peace” ahead of Florida meeting with Trump

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday. The meeting is part of the latest round of talks aimed at ending the nearly four-year-long war with Russia.

The two leaders will discuss the latest draft of a peace plan prepared under U.S. mediation, which Moscow has not yet endorsed, as well as separate U.S. proposals regarding security guarantees.

The meeting at the U.S. president’s residence, Mar-a-Lago in Florida, is taking place as Russia carried out heavy bombardment of Kyiv over the weekend. According to Zelensky, these attacks are proof that Moscow “does not want peace.”

Local officials said that a 10-hour-long missile and drone assault on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv on Friday night killed two people and injured 32. Further Russian attacks were carried out on Saturday night as well.

During the Florida meeting, Zelensky will raise the issue of security guarantees for Ukraine and territorial concessions—matters on which Russia has already refused to compromise.

Discussions will also cover a new 20-point peace plan, which is a revised version of an earlier 28-point plan prepared by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff. The earlier plan was widely viewed as leaning too heavily in Russia’s favor.

Control of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region has remained the biggest point of contention. However, Zelensky has now said that establishing a “free economic zone” there could be a possible option.

Currently, Moscow controls about 75 percent of the Donetsk region and nearly 99 percent of neighboring Luhansk. Together, these two regions are known as Donbas.

The Kremlin has not commented on Zelensky’s offer to withdraw troops from eastern Donbas, provided Russia also pulls back its forces.

However, on Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Ukraine is “not showing any urgency in resolving the conflict peacefully,” according to the state news agency TASS.

Putin added that if Kyiv does not want to resolve the conflict peacefully, Russia will achieve its objectives through military force.

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The Ukrainian president expressed optimism about the draft of the new peace plan, calling it a “foundational document for ending the war.”

Speaking to journalists on Friday, he said the plan is 90 percent complete:
“Our responsibility is to complete it 100 percent.”

But in an interview with Politico, Trump warned that Zelensky has “nothing without my approval.”

Trump also said he expects to see the new draft on Sunday.

“I think the talks with him will go well. I think everything will be fine with Putin too,” Trump said, adding that he expects to speak with the Russian president soon.

After meeting Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Zelensky said the latest attack on Kyiv was “Russia’s response to our peace efforts and clearly shows that Putin does not want peace.”

Zelensky also held telephone conversations with European leaders to discuss diplomatic “priorities” ahead of his meeting with Trump, saying that a “strong stance” is necessary to move forward.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that Kyiv has the “full support” of European and NATO leaders.

The most devastating Russian assault over the weekend occurred from Friday night into Saturday morning, targeting Kyiv.

According to Ukrainian officials, Russian strikes caused severe damage to energy infrastructure, leaving 40 percent of residential buildings in Kyiv and nearby areas without heating.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense said it used long-range precision weapons to target energy facilities, claiming they were being used “in the interests of the Ukrainian armed forces and military-industrial enterprises.”

Ukrainian officials said Russia launched around 500 drones and 40 missiles toward Kyiv, targeting energy and civilian infrastructure.

Images showed large cracks in apartment buildings and homes engulfed in flames.

The residential building of BBC journalist Anastasia Gribanova was also hit, causing fires in some apartments on the upper floors of the high-rise. Gribanova was in an elevator at the time but remained safe.

Following the attack, Poland—which shares a 530-kilometer border with western Ukraine—placed its fighter jets, ground-based air defense systems, and radar surveillance on alert.

Poland later announced that its airspace had not been violated.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense said its air defense systems shot down nearly 200 Ukrainian drones over various Russian regions, including eight over Moscow.

According to Ukraine’s General Staff, a relatively smaller number of missiles were launched from Saturday night into Sunday.

The statement said the military destroyed 30 drones in the country’s north, south, and east, and no casualties were reported.