U.S. President Donald Trump looks at Russian President Vladimir Putin next to him during a press conference after talks to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15, 2025.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
President Donald Trump said Sunday he had a “very productive” phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is scheduled to arrive at Mar-a-Lago in the US president’s latest attempt to end the war between the two countries.
“Prior to my meeting with President Zelenskiy today at 1 p.m., I just had a very productive phone conversation with President Vladimir Putin of Russia,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
The high-stakes talks come at a critical moment in efforts to end the nearly four-year war that began with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.
Zelenskiy, who arrived in Florida early Sunday, said the two leaders would discuss economic and security agreements as well as “territorial issues” that remain a major point of contention between Russia and Ukraine.
President Zelensky told reporters this week that about 90% of his 20-point peace plan is ready, but it is unclear whether the outcome of the peace talks will be accepted by President Putin.
Russia has reportedly moved into the battlefield in recent months, claiming control of more areas in eastern Ukraine, and officials have repeatedly urged Ukraine to abandon all of Donbas, including the parts still under Kiev control.
Russia attacked Ukraine’s capital and other areas with hundreds of missiles and drones on Saturday, knocking out power and heating in parts of the capital, Reuters reported. President Zelenskiy called this a Russian response to U.S.-brokered peace efforts.
President Zelenskiy on Sunday pointed to attacks on his country’s energy infrastructure amid peace efforts and suggested they were partly motivated by keeping pressure on Russia, including sanctions on Ukraine and defense technology.
“This is the most diplomatic period of the year, and many things will be decided before the new year,” President Zelenskiy said on social media.
Early Sunday, a Kremlin official said U.S. and Russian leaders agreed to oppose the temporary ceasefire being negotiated, suggesting that Ukraine needs to make “bold decisions” regarding the Donbas region to end the war.
“Importantly, the presidents of Russia and the United States share a similar view that the option of a temporary ceasefire, proposed by Ukraine and the European side in preparation for a referendum or under other pretexts, will only lead to a prolongation of the conflict,” Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov told Reuters.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social that his meeting with Zelensky will take place in the main dining room of the Mar-a-Lago resort, with reporters present.
In February, a meeting between President Trump and President Zelenskiy over a potential mineral trade between the two countries devolved into a public spectacle, with President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance accusing President Zelenskiy of being “disrespectful” to the US president.
