In a hopeful turn for diplomatic relations, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Friday that he expects to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump “in the near future.” This anticipated meeting signals a potential breakthrough in efforts to resolve the nearly four-year-long conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Zelenskyy shared the development on social media platform X, emphasizing the urgency and significance of the upcoming meeting. “We are not losing a single day,” he stated, underscoring the commitment to progress. He expressed optimism that “a lot can be decided before the New Year,” hinting at possible resolutions on the horizon.
The announcement follows a constructive dialogue that took place on Thursday, where Zelenskyy engaged in what he described as a “good conversation” with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law. This interaction highlights the ongoing diplomatic efforts by the U.S. to mediate peace in the region.
While President Trump has been actively seeking a diplomatic solution to the conflict, these efforts have faced challenges due to the contrasting demands from Moscow and Kyiv. Nonetheless, Zelenskyy’s willingness to negotiate is evident. Earlier in the week, he expressed readiness to withdraw Ukrainian troops from the eastern industrial areas if Russia agrees to a reciprocal pullback, aiming to establish a demilitarized zone supervised by international forces.
Trump has unleashed an extensive diplomatic push to end the war, but his efforts have run into sharply conflicting demands by Moscow and Kyiv.
Zelenskyy said Tuesday he would be willing to withdraw troops from the country’s eastern industrial heartland as part of a plan to end the war, if Moscow also pulls back and the area becomes a demilitarized zone monitored by international forces.
Though Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday that there had been “slow but steady progress” in the peace talks, Russia has given no indication that it will agree to any kind of withdrawal from land it has seized.
In fact, Moscow has insisted that Ukraine relinquish the remaining territory it still holds in the Donbas — an ultimatum that Ukraine has rejected. Russia has captured most of Luhansk and about 70% of Donetsk — the two areas that make up the Donbas.
On the ground, Russian drone attacks on the city of Mykolaiv and its suburbs overnight into Friday left part of the city without power.
Meanwhile, Ukraine said it struck a major Russian oil refinery Thursday using British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles.
Ukraine’s General Staff said its forces hit the Novoshakhtinsk refinery in Russia’s Rostov region. “Multiple explosions were recorded. The target was hit,” it wrote on Telegram.
Rostov regional Gov. Yuri Slyusar said a firefighter was wounded when extinguishing the fire.
Ukraine’s long-range drone strikes on Russian refineries aim to deprive Moscow of the oil export revenue it needs to pursue its full-scale invasion. Russia wants to cripple the Ukrainian power grid, seeking to deny civilians access to heat, light and running water in what Kyiv officials say is an attempt to “weaponize winter.”
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