Kathmandu
Thursday, February 26, 2026
KYIV: Ahead of a new round of talks on Thursday aimed at ending Russia’s invasion, US President Donald Trump held discussions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Zelensky thanked Trump and his envoys for their active involvement in the negotiations, noting that their discussions focused on the agenda for the upcoming bilateral meeting in Geneva and preparations for a trilateral session scheduled for early March.
In a post on X, the Ukrainian President wrote, “I just spoke with @POTUS Donald Trump. Envoys of President Trump – Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were also on the call. Our teams work intensively and I thanked them for all their work and for their active involvement in the negotiations and the efforts to end the war. We also greatly value the PURL initiative. This winter has been the most difficult one for Ukraine, but the missiles for air defense systems that we purchase from the U.S. are helping us get through all these challenges and protect lives.”
He said these talks aim to move negotiations to the leaders’ level, which he described as the only way to resolve complex issues and bring an end to the war.
“We discussed the issues that our representatives will address tomorrow in Geneva during the bilateral meeting, as well as preparations for the next meeting of the full negotiating teams in a trilateral format at the very beginning of March. We expect this meeting to create an opportunity to move talks to the leaders’ level. President Trump supports this sequence of steps. This is the only way to resolve all the complex and sensitive issues and finally end the war. Thank you!” the post read.
Earlier on Tuesday, Zelenskyy marked four years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, declaring that Kyiv has preserved its independence and thwarted Moscow’s initial objectives.
In a post on X, Zelenskyy said, “Today marks exactly four years since Putin started his three-day push to take Kyiv. And that says a great deal about our resistance, about how Ukraine has fought all this time,” referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. (ANI)
