Zelenskyy Meets Trump and European Leaders Amid Sustained Russian Attacks on Kyiv
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to Florida for face-to-face talks with former US President Donald Trump as Russia launched a prolonged drone and missile barrage on Kyiv lasting about 10 hours. Nearly 500 drones and 40 missiles targeted Kyiv's energy facilities and civilian infrastructure, resulting in one death and approximately 24 injuries. Energy outages persisted, though roughly 750,000 Kyiv households have since had power restored.
Prior to the Florida meeting, Zelenskyy stopped in Canada where he met Prime Minister Mark Carney. Carney announced an additional $2.5 billion in economic aid for Ukraine. Subsequently, Zelenskyy held discussions with European leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa. These leaders framed the peace talks as a contrast between Ukraine's pursuit of lasting peace and Russia's aim to prolong the war, pledging continued EU support and progress toward Ukraine's European Union membership.
Zelenskyy described his meeting with Trump as an effort to refine a 20-point peace plan, currently about 90% complete, with a goal of reaching 100%. This plan updates a previous 28-point document. However, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov criticized the plan, asserting that final agreement depends on resolving core issues and noting it differs from an earlier US-Russian version.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stated that Russia’s attacks are a reaction to the ongoing peace efforts. About one third of Kyiv remains without heating amid temperatures near 0°C. Meanwhile, Russia claimed capture of Myrnograd and Guliaipole, reported downing 111 Ukrainian drones, and its strikes forced Polish fighter jets to scramble and temporarily led to the closure of Rzeszów and Lublin airports.
