Geneva talks: Key details on Ukraine-US-Russia meeting
Photo: The talks in Geneva are taking place amid Trump's pressure and Russia's massive attack on Ukraine (Russian media)
Swiss Geneva is hosting a new round of trilateral talks between Ukraine, the United States, and Russia. The meeting is taking place amid Donald Trump's statements that Kyiv needs to sit down at the negotiating table as soon as possible, and after a massive overnight Russian attack on Ukraine.
Read also: Historical lecture over compromise: Kremlin's new delegation heads to Geneva for Donbas talks
Key points
- The third round is taking place in Geneva (Switzerland) and will continue tomorrow.
- This is the first meeting between the parties in Europe since the start of the full-scale war.
- Russia said the agenda will include territorial issues.
- Ukraine plans to raise the energy ceasefire and humanitarian issues.
- Composition of the Ukrainian delegation: Umerov, Budanov, Skibitskyi, Kyslytsya, Hnatov, Arakhamia.
- Witkoff, Kushner, Driscoll represent the United States.
- Russia downgraded the status of its delegation, headed by the “historian” Medinsky (previously it was led by GRU chief Kostyukov).
- On the eve of the talks, Trump raised pressure, saying that Ukraine should sit down at the negotiating table as soon as possible.
- Ahead of the talks, Russia carried out a massive strike on Ukraine’s energy sector.
This is the first such meeting on a European platform since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine. Before that, trilateral negotiations were held in Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.
The talks in Geneva will take place in the second half of the day, CNN writes. Meanwhile, Russian propaganda media report that the start is scheduled for 1:00 pm (Kyiv time).
A spokeswoman for the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Diana Davitian, told journalists that the meeting will begin around noon.
What will be discussed in Geneva?
The Russian side said that this time the agenda will be broader than during the previous round in Abu Dhabi. The Kremlin announced a discussion of the territorial issue.
Ukraine, for its part, plans to raise the topic of an energy ceasefire. The Ukrainian side also expects results on humanitarian issues.
Composition of the delegations
Ukraine
- Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umerov;
- Head of the Presidential Office Kyrylo Budanov;
- Deputy Head of the Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense Vadym Skibitskyi;
- Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Sergiy Kyslytsya;
- Chief of the General Staff General Andrii Hnatov;
- Head of the Servant of the People faction Davyd Arakhamia.
The Ukrainian delegation arrived in Geneva the evening before.
United States
The American side will be represented by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, White House special envoy Steve Witkoff, and US Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll.
According to available information, they arrived in Geneva this morning to take part in the talks.
Russia
This time, Russia downgraded the status of its delegation. It is headed by Putin's aide and his ideologist Vladimir Medinsky, who already took part in last year’s talks in Istanbul. Earlier, in Abu Dhabi, the Russian delegation was led by GRU chief Igor Kostyukov.
A plane with the Russian delegation landed in Switzerland on Tuesday morning.
Russians said that their delegation will include at least 15 people. In addition to Medinsky and Kostyukov, it includes Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, known for supporting the Kremlin’s hard line. He has already started pushing narratives about “external governance” of Ukraine under the auspices of the UN.
Politico writes that among the delegates is GRU representative Alexander Zorin, who participated in negotiations about Azovstal in 2022.
Among the likely participants were also named Elena Podobreevskaya (a subordinate of Medinsky) and Alexey Polishchuk (a representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry).
Kremlin special envoy Kirill Dmitriev also arrived in Geneva.
Trump’s pressure
On the eve of the talks in Geneva, US President Donald Trump increased pressure on Kyiv, saying that “Ukraine better come to the table fast.”
“Well, big talks. It's going to be very easy...Ukraine better come to the table fast. That's all I'm telling you. We are in a position we want them to come,” he told journalists aboard Air Force One.
Russian strike ahead of the talks
Before the meeting in Geneva, the Russians carried out a combined strike on Ukraine with missiles and drones on the night of February 17. The main targets were energy and civilian infrastructure.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry noted that this shows the degree of Russia’s disregard for peace efforts. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for greater pressure on the aggressor country.
The enemy launched 29 missiles and 396 drones overnight. Although most targets were intercepted by air defense, there were still hits. Odesa, Dnipro, and western Ukraine were under attack. Among the 9 injured are children. The Odesa thermal power plant was attacked, as well as ordinary residential buildings.
Read more about the consequences of the attack in a separate RBC-Ukraine article.
In January and early February 2026, several rounds of talks between Ukraine and Russia took place in Abu Dhabi with US mediation.
Important progress on ending the war was not achieved then. However, the parties agreed on a prisoner exchange, which became the first in five months.
