🚨 THE LATEST OVERVIEW OF THE NEGOTIATIONS:
- SCHEDULE: The meeting has been rescheduled to an earlier time and will now take place at 1:00 PM EST at Mar-a-Lago on Sunday, Dec. 28. Journalists are expected to be escorted to the location at 12:00 PM.
- PARTICIPANTS: From the Ukrainian side: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Rustem Umerov, Economy Minister Oleksii Sobolev, Andrii Hnatov, Oleksandr Bevz, Sergiy Kyslytsya, and Ambassador Olga Stefanishyna.
From the U.S. side: President Donald Trump, special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are expected. Other members of the administration may also join.
- TOPICS: Zelenskyy emphasized that this is a bilateral meeting, focused primarily on U.S.–Ukraine issues. He outlined 5 key topics: 1) U.S. security guarantees; 2) European security guarantees; 3) Ukraine’s prosperity package; 4) the military situation; 5) a roadmap for implementing all agreements. Zelenskyy reiterated on Saturday that the 20-point plan is 90% complete, with the goal now being to finalize it fully. The results of the Sunday negotiations will then be shared with russia.
- EUROPEANS: Zelenskyy once again emphasized that he expects European leaders to join the talks with Trump via video conference from Mar-a-Lago.
The day before the meeting, President Zelenskyy and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney held a video conference in Canada with: Emmanuel Macron, President of France; Alexander Stubb, President of Finland; Friedrich Merz, Chancellor of Germany; Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister of Italy; Mette Frederiksen, Prime Minister of Denmark; Donald Tusk, Prime Minister of Poland; Dick Schoof, Prime Minister of the Netherlands; Jonas Gahr Støre, Prime Minister of Norway; Ulf Kristersson, Prime Minister of Sweden; António Costa, President of the European Council; Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission; Mark Rutte, Secretary General of NATO; and Jonathan Powell, UK National Security Adviser.
- RALLY: at 11:00 AM, a rally will be held on the Southern Boulevard Bridge, which connects West Palm Beach and Palm Beach near Mar-a-Lago. The rally is organized by the Ukrainian Association of Florida, in partnership with local Ukrainian leaders and people across the state, to support Ukraine during the negotiations. If access to the bridge is restricted, participants will gather in West Palm Beach, at the western foot of the bridge, at the southeastern corner of Southern Boulevard and South Flagler Drive, along the Intracoastal Waterway.
- SIGNING A DEAL ON SUNDAY: The Ukrainian side has declined to comment on whether a deal could be signed on Sunday. “I can’t say right now whether anything will be finalized by then,” Zelenskyy said on Friday.
At the same time, Zelenskyy answered “Yes” when asked whether he is ready to sign a deal with the United States. According to him several bilateral agreements “can already be finalized.”
- REFERENDUM: Zelenskyy reiterated that he is open to a referendum, but only if Russia agrees to a 60–90-day ceasefire. He suggested holding a vote on the full 20-point document in the form of a simple “YES” or “NO” vote, including territorial issues. Although officially the text of the “territories question” doesn't exist yet, as it has been left for discussion at the presidential level. He also suggested holding presidential elections on the same day, together with the referendum.
- RUSSIA: The day before the meeting, Russia launched a massive attack across Ukraine, with Kyiv and the surrounding region as the primary targets. Air defenses detected 559 aerial targets in total, including drones and missiles, leaving more than 500,000 families in Kyiv without electricity, heat, or water. Russia also pushed false claims about taking control of additional Ukrainian cities, including Hulyaipole and Myrnohrad, which were officially debunked by Ukrainian military officials, as were earlier claims about Kupiansk.