Kyiv officials to meet Trump envoys in Geneva

Kyiv: A Ukrainian delegation is set to meet Thursday with American envoys in the run-up to another round of trilateral talks with Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council Secretary, is due to hold talks with US President Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, Zelenskyy told reporters in a media chat on Wednesday.

The meeting will take place in Geneva, Umerov’s press secretary Diana Davytian said.

The Swiss city is also expected to host on the same day a round of nuclear talks between the United States and Iran. A US push for peace has already brought Russia and Ukraine to the table in Abu Dhabi and Geneva this year, but the talks have produced no breakthrough on bridging key differences as Russia’s all-out invasion of its neighbour enters its fifth year.

Thursday’s meeting will address details of a possible postwar recovery plan for Ukraine and discuss preparations for an upcoming trilateral meeting with Moscow officials, Zelenskyy said, adding that he has also tasked Umerov with discussing a possible prisoner exchange. Ukraine wants the talks with Russia to take place next week, he said.

In a defiant stance on Tuesday, amid events marking the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion, Zelenskyy noted that Russia has not defeated Ukraine nor broken the Ukrainian spirit, despite its bigger and better-equipped army and heavy bombardment of civilian areas. Ukrainian forces have in recent months pushed back Russia’s army at points along the roughly 1,250-kilometre front line in eastern areas of the country, according to the Institute for

the Study of War.