Russian and Ukrainian negotiators are meeting in Geneva on Tuesday for a third round of United States-brokered peace talks, days before the fourth anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion.
The two-day meeting follows earlier rounds in Abu Dhabi and Istanbul that both sides described as constructive but produced no breakthrough.
Fighting continued as delegations gathered in Switzerland.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched more than 400 drones and missiles overnight, targeting energy infrastructure across the country. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said strikes on the southern port of Odesa damaged the power grid and left tens of thousands without heat and water.
“Even on the eve of the trilateral meetings in Geneva, the Russian army has no orders other than to continue striking Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said on social media. He urged allies to increase sanctions and accelerate weapons deliveries to secure what he called a “real and just” peace.
The talks bring together officials from Kyiv and Moscow with US mediation. According to Reuters, US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner represent President Donald Trump’s administration.
Trump has pressed both sides to reach a deal before the summer. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, he directed his message at Kyiv.
“Ukraine better come to the table fast. That’s all I’m telling you,” Trump said.
Zelenskyy has signalled frustration at what he views as pressure on Ukraine to concede territory. At the Munich Security Conference last weekend, he said Kyiv would not surrender the remaining parts of Donetsk oblast under its control, including Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.
“Allowing the aggressor to take something is a big mistake,” he said. “Putin cannot be stopped with kisses or flowers.”
Russia occupies about 20 per cent of Ukraine’s territory, including Crimea and large parts of the Donbas seized before and after the February 2022 invasion.
The central dispute remains land. Moscow demands that Ukraine cede the remaining areas of Donetsk that Russian forces have failed to capture, roughly one fifth of the region. Kyiv has rejected full territorial concessions, though officials have floated the possibility of withdrawals in exchange for binding security guarantees from the United States and other allies.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Geneva round would cover a broader agenda than previous meetings.
“The main issues concern both the territories and everything else related to the demands we have put forward,” Peskov told reporters.
Russia’s delegation is led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, joined by military intelligence chief Igor Kostyukov and deputy foreign minister Mikhail Galuzin. Medinsky’s role has drawn scepticism in Kyiv, where officials recall his earlier arguments questioning Ukrainian sovereignty.
Ukraine’s team is headed by Rustem Umerov, secretary of the national security and defence council, alongside presidential office chief Kyrylo Budanov and senior aide Serhiy Kyslytsya.
“We are working constructively, focused and without excessive expectations,” Umerov wrote on X before the talks began. He said security and humanitarian issues would feature on the agenda and reiterated Kyiv’s goal of a “sustainable and lasting peace”.
Russian state agencies reported that bilateral contacts concluded on Tuesday morning before a trilateral session involving the US began later in the day. Talks are set to continue on Wednesday.
Beyond territory, divisions remain over control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, which is under Russian occupation, and over the potential presence of Western troops in Ukraine after any ceasefire.
Data analysed by AFP indicates that Ukrainian forces recaptured more than 200 square kilometres of territory last week, largely in the Zaporizhzhia region. The gain roughly matches the area Russia seized in December.
The Geneva meeting marks the first time the current trilateral format has taken place on European soil. Next Tuesday will mark four years since Russian troops crossed into Ukraine.
HT