Ukraine-Russia Geneva Peace Negotiations Enter Second Day
The discussions are being mediated by Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump's special envoy, alongside Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law. The renewed diplomatic push comes less than a week before the fourth anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine war, with hostilities on the ground showing no sign of abating.
Russia's delegation is being led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, a notable departure from the senior military figures who headed previous rounds held in Abu Dhabi. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov signaled ahead of Wednesday's session that the agenda had expanded, stating that negotiations would address a "wider range of issues," including the "main issues concerning the territories," which he described as central to Moscow's demands.
Ukraine's delegation is headed by Rustem Umerov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, who arrived in Geneva with a defined mandate. "We have a framework for work agreed upon by the President of Ukraine (Volodymyr Zelenskyy) and a clear mandate. Security and humanitarian issues are on the agenda," Umerov said ahead of the sessions.
In a late Tuesday update, Umerov reported that following the joint plenary, the two sides separated into parallel political and military working groups to drill down on specifics. Discussions centered on "practical issues and the mechanics of possible solutions," he said.
"As of today, both the political and military blocs have completed their work. We thank our American partners for their constructive cooperation," Umerov added, confirming that negotiations would continue Wednesday morning.
Umerov also disclosed that he held a separate coordination meeting with representatives from France, the UK, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland, aimed at aligning approaches among European partners ahead of any next steps.
Russian state media, citing sources within the Moscow delegation, struck a starkly different tone — characterizing the negotiations as "very tense" and reporting that discrete Russia-US contacts had taken place in parallel with the formal trilateral format.
On the American side, Witkoff offered an optimistic assessment, posting on X that the exchanges had "brought about meaningful progress" toward ending the war. "President Trump's success in bringing both sides of this war together has brought about meaningful progress, and we are proud to work under his leadership to stop the killing in this terrible conflict," he wrote.
President Zelenskyy, meanwhile, delivered a sharply worded account of Tuesday night's events, revealing that Russia launched 29 missiles and nearly 400 drones in the hours preceding the talks — with 25 missiles successfully intercepted. He framed the assault as a deliberate provocation timed to the diplomatic opening.
"Russia greets with a strike even the very day new formats begin in Geneva," Zelenskyy wrote in a Telegram post. "The team absolutely must raise the issue of these strikes – first of all with the American side, which proposed that both Ukraine and Russia refrain from attacks. Ukraine is ready. We do not need war. And we always act symmetrically - defending our state and our independence."
He struck a cautiously conciliatory note in closing, adding: "Likewise, we are ready to move quickly toward a just agreement to end the war."
The negotiations are being conducted entirely behind closed doors, with no formal joint statement expected in the immediate term.
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