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OAN Staff Blake Wolf
2:22 PM – Sunday, December 28, 2025
President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday, announcing that both sides are getting close to closing the deal while noting that he believes both Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin want peace.
Speaking to reporters outside of his Mar-a-Lago residence prior to his meeting with the Ukrainian president, Trump revealed that he spoke with Putin over the phone for more than an hour, stating, “The two leaders want it to end.”
Russian foreign affairs advisor Yuri Ushakov stated that the phone conversation between Putin and Trump was “friendly, benevolent, and businesslike,” while noting that the two world leaders agreed to speak “promptly” after Trump met with Zelensky.
Heading into the meeting, Zelensky looked to improve the conditions of the peace agreement currently being negotiated, which still includes territorial concessions from Ukraine.
“This gentleman has worked very hard, and is very brave, and his people are very brave,” Trump told reporters alongside Zelensky.
President Trump was also asked whether he believes the meeting with Zelensky will lead to a deal, to which he responded, “It depends. I do believe we have the makings of a deal,” while noting that the war has been “difficult” to resolve.
“I don’t have deadlines,” the president added. “You know what my deadline is? Getting the war ended.”
In the meeting, President Trump was joined by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, War Secretary Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine, White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and Federal Acquisition Service at the General Services Administration commissioner Josh Gruenbaum.
Meanwhile, large-scale Russian attacks continue despite the ongoing negotiations, including hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles on the capital city of Kyiv and surrounding communities beginning on Friday night, killing at least three and injuring over 40 more.
The attack reportedly targeted energy and civilian infrastructure in Kyiv, leaving many residents without heating, according to Zelensky.
Along with Putin’s demand to acquire the Donbas region, Russia is also asking that Ukraine forego its aspirations of joining NATO or the deployment of any NATO troops into Ukraine, while also demanding that Ukraine limit the size of its army.
In an attempt to push the peace talks forward, the Trump administration offered Ukraine security guarantees similar to guarantees ensured within the NATO alliance.
“The basis of that agreement is basically to have really, really strong guarantees, Article 5-like,” a senior U.S. official recently told Politico. “Those guarantees will not be on the table forever. Those guarantees are on the table right now if there’s a conclusion that’s reached in a good way.”
Additionally, following the meeting, President Trump and Zelensky held a joint press conference.
In speaking with the press, Trump stated that the deal is “close,” although there are “one or two very thorny issues” that remain unresolved, one of which is land concessions.
“We had a terrific meeting. We discussed a lot of things,” Trump stated. “We have made a lot of progress on ending that war.”
Zelensky echoed Trump’s remarks, adding that the peace proposal is approximately “90 percent” complete.
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