- - 'Very productive.' Trump speaks to Putin ahead of Zelenskyy meeting

Zac Anderson, USA TODAY December 28, 2025 at 11:55 PM

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President Donald Trump spoke with Russian leader Vladimir Putin ahead of his meeting with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss a peace plan for the war-torn nation.

Trump said in a Dec. 28 social media post that the call with Putin was “good and very productive.”

The president is trying to hammer out a deal to end nearly four years of fighting after Russia invaded Ukraine, with Zelenskyy arriving at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort Dec. 28 to discuss the 20-point plan that American and Ukrainian leaders have been negotiating.

The peace plan would implement security guarantees to protect Ukraine from further attacks, allow the country to keep an 800,000-troop military, provide help for rebuilding the nation's economy and craft a plan for membership in the European Union.

Zelenskyy said in a Dec. 27 social media post that the security guarantees are the most important aspect of the potential deal.

1 / 15See life in Ukraine after more than three years of war with RussiaWindows have been broken in an apartment inside a residential building badly damaged during Russian missiles and drones strikes, on Nov. 25, 2025, in Kyiv, Ukraine. A Russian missile and drone strike hit Kyiv overnight, causing civilian casualties. According to Kyiv authorities, at least 6 people died and 13 others, including one child, have been injured. The attack also led to widespread power outages in several parts of the city due to emergency measures taken by Ukraine's national energy provider, Ukrenergo. Emergency services have rescued 18 people from the rubble. In the morning, another missile strike using Kinzhal and Iskander systems was reported.

"We must work toward having a minimum of unresolved issues," Zelenskyy said ahead of his meeting with Trump. "Of course, today there are red lines for Ukraine and Ukrainian people. There are compromise proposals. All of these issues are very sensitive."

Trump's latest meeting with Zelenskyy comes after a rollercoaster year of negotiations to end the war. The president came into office promising a swift end to the conflict, but a peace deal has proven elusive, and Trump has lashed out at both sides.

Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Zelenskyy during a February meeting that ended with the Ukrainian leader being booted from the White House. He returned in August for discussions that went smoothly.

Zelenskyy’s second trip to the White House came after Trump rolled out the red carpet for Putin during an Aug. 15 summit in Alaska. The Putin meeting didn’t produce a breakthrough and alarmed European leaders, who then joined Zelenskyy at the White House.

President Donald Trump participates in NORAD Santa tracker phone calls, on Christmas Eve, from the Mar-a-lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., December 24, 2025.

Since then Trump has applied more pressure on Russia with sanctions on the nation’s two largest oil companies.

The recent flurry of diplomatic negotiations began last month. Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner met with Putin in Moscow on Dec. 2 and had a phone call with Zelenskyy on Christmas Day.

The Trump administration crafted a 28-point peace plan for Ukraine that drew criticism as being heavily tilted toward Russia’s interests. Ukrainian officials worked with U.S. negotiators to revise the plan, unveiling a new 20-point proposal Dec. 24.

Zelenskyy said American and Ukrainian officials agreed on most aspects of the plan before his meeting with Trump, but he arrived in Florida with some major unresolved issues. The question of territorial concessions has been one of the biggest sticking points.

A key point of disagreement is eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region, where Russia has sought full control, including over lands still held by Kyiv. Ukrainian leaders want to halt the conflict at the current battle lines, but Zelenskyy has expressed openness to a proposal floated by the U.S. to withdraw troops in the part of the Donetsk region that Kyiv controls and create a demilitarized, free economic zone.

Leaders in the region have also disagreed over the operation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Russia controls the plant. The United States proposed a joint operating agreement between Russia, Ukraine and America, but both Ukraine and Russia want to exclude the other.

Russian forces gained ground in Ukraine during 2025, steadily seizing territory. The day before Zelenskyy and Trump met, Russia unleashed a barrage of missiles and drones on Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine.

Contributing: Reuters

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