Trump and Zelenskyy meeting in Florida to talk Ukraine peace plan

Mr. Trump said connected Truth Social that helium spoke with Putin up of his gathering with Zelenskyy Sunday. 

"I conscionable had a bully and precise productive telephone telephone with President Putin of Russia anterior to my meeting, astatine 1:00 P.M. today, with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine," Mr. Trump said, noting that the gathering with Ukraine's president is acceptable to instrumentality spot successful Mar-a-Lago's main eating room. 

Zelenskyy urged Ukraine's partners successful a post connected X Sunday greeting to support up their enactment aft Russia attacked Ukraine's superior metropolis of Kyiv a time earlier, noting that these "are immoderate of the astir progressive diplomatic days of the twelvemonth close now, and a batch tin beryllium decided earlier the New Year."

"We are doing everything toward this, but whether decisions volition beryllium made depends connected our partners – those who assistance Ukraine, and those who enactment unit connected Russia truthful that Russians consciousness the consequences of their ain aggression," Zelenskyy said. 

The Ukrainian president said this week, Russia "launched implicit 2,100 onslaught drones, astir 800 guided aerial bombs, and 94 missiles of assorted types."

While crews and archetypal responders are moving "literally 24/7 to support lives and reconstruct powerfulness supply," Zelenskyy said it's "just arsenic important that sanctions against Russia work, that each forms of governmental unit for its aggression are applied, that Ukraine receives aerial defence missiles, and that we each finalize the formats of steps that volition extremity this warfare and warrant security."

"These are precisely the steps we volition beryllium discussing with our partners today," Zelenskyy said.  

The station comes aft Zelenskyy met with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and held a telephone with European satellite leaders successful Canada connected Saturday. The Ukrainian president said the leaders discussed advancement connected the diplomatic beforehand a time up of his gathering with Mr. Trump. 

"We went implicit the astir important priorities together. Ukraine values each of the support," Zelenskyy said successful a post connected X. "Tomorrow, aft the gathering with President Trump, we volition proceed our discussion."

Ukraine was a root of consternation for the president agelong earlier helium took bureau successful January. A Democratic-controlled House impeached him successful December 2019 implicit withholding subject assistance to Ukraine and a 2019 call with Zelenskyy successful which helium urged the Ukrainian person to analyse Joe Biden, who was past a imaginable 2020 rival for the presidency. 

The Democrat-led House impeached Mr. Trump for abusing his powerfulness and obstructing Congress. The archetypal complaint related to his dealings regarding Ukraine, implicit withholding U.S. subject assistance from Ukraine unless Zelenskyy announced investigations that would payment Mr. Trump's 2020 reelection campaign. The 2nd nonfiction of impeachment accused Mr. Trump of blocking grounds and witnesses subpoenaed by Congress successful its impeachment inquiry.

The Senate voted to acquit Mr. Trump connected the charges successful February 2020. 

Mr. Trump has periodically voiced vexation that the warfare successful Ukraine continues, aft helium predicted connected the run way that he'd resoluteness it earlier helium adjacent took bureau successful January. In the past fewer months, the president has acknowledged that bringing the warfare to an extremity has been much challenging than helium expected. 

The president told WABC helium thought the Russia-Ukraine warfare "would've been an casual 1 due to the fact that I bash get on good with him," referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. "But [it] has not turned retired to beryllium the easiest, it's turned retired to beryllium the toughest." 

Mr. Trump and Zelenskyy are gathering Sunday successful Florida, arsenic negotiators purpose to marque important advancement successful ending Russia's astir four-year warfare successful Ukraine. 

The Ukrainian president told reporters Friday the 2 leaders would beryllium discussing information guarantees for Ukraine. Zelenskyy said the draught 20-point bid program is "about 90% ready" and said "a batch tin beryllium decided earlier the New Year," arsenic the U.S., Ukraine and European allies question an extremity to the war. 

"In my view, the statement betwixt america and the United States is astir ready," Zelenskyy said.

But Mr. Trump was cautious erstwhile asked astir the program successful an interrogation with Politico Friday. 

"He doesn't person thing until I o.k. it," Mr. Trump said of Zelenskyy. "So we'll spot what he's got."

Mr. Trump has been spending the Christmas vacation astatine his Mar-a-Lago property successful Palm Beach. 

Zelenskyy, who archetypal announced the meeting, said Thursday that helium had a "good conversation" with U.S. peculiar envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump's son-in-law. 

Russian statesmanlike envoy Kirill Dmitriev besides met with U.S. envoys successful Florida past weekend. 

A draught 20-point plan, agreed connected by U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators, is nether reappraisal by the Kremlin, though Moscow has shown nary willingness to compromise connected its territorial demands.  

Zelenskyy conceded earlier this week helium would beryllium consenting to retreat Ukrainian troops from Ukraine's eastbound concern heartland, if Russia pulls backmost and allows the country to go a demilitarized portion with planetary forces monitoring it. 

But Moscow has besides not indicated it's consenting to retreat troops and has demanded that Ukraine relinquish the remaining territory it holds successful the eastbound Donbas region. Ukraine has flatly rejected this idea. 

"I deliberation we're making immoderate advancement connected that front," Mr. Trump said of bid successful Ukraine successful a telephone interrogation with WABC New York speech amusement "Sid & Friends successful the Morning."

White House property caput Karoline Leavitt said successful December Mr. Trump is "extremely frustrated with some sides of this war." 

Mr. Trump and Zelenskyy past met successful idiosyncratic connected Oct. 17, astatine the White House. The 2 men haven't had an casual relationship. Their archetypal face-to-face gathering in February, during Mr. Trump's 2nd term, became contentious, with Vice President JD Vance accusing Zelenskyy of not saying "thank you," Mr. Trump telling Zelenskyy helium didn't "have the cards close now," and the Ukrainian squad leaving the White House early.