Ukraine peace talks collapse in lower than two hours as Zelensky says it’s ‘not honest’ Trump desires him to compromise and never Putin
US-mediated peace talks on Ukraine collapsed in less than two hours after Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky claimed it was unfair that Donald Trump was placing more pressure on his country than on Russia.
The second day of talks concluded on Wednesday, though neither side signalled they were any closer to ending Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.
The talks wrapped up after just two hours, much shorter than the six hours of meetings on Tuesday, according to the head of Russia’s delegation.
Neither side elaborated on what they discussed or whether they had agreed on anything, but both signalled the discussions had been tricky.
Trump put pressure on Ukraine on Monday to make a deal, saying they ‘better come to the table, fast’.
But Zelensky told Axios on Tuesday it was ‘not fair’ that Ukraine – and not Russia – was facing more pressure, adding that lasting peace would not be achieved if ‘victory’ was just handed to Moscow.
‘I hope it is just his tactics and not the decision,’ Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian leader said late Tuesday he was ready to move ‘quickly’ towards a deal but questioned whether Russia was serious about peace.
Volodymyr Zelensky claimed it was unfair that Donald Trump was placing more pressure on his country than on Russia
US-mediated peace talks on Ukraine take place in Geneva
Russia is pushing for full control of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region as part of any deal, and has threatened to take it by force
The US has been pushing for an end to the nearly four-year war, but has so far failed to broker a compromise between Moscow and Kyiv on the key issue of territory.
The latest talks on Wednesday were ‘difficult, but business-like,’ the head of Russia’s delegation Vladimir Medinsky told Russian state media after the talks.
While the talks were still ongoing, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia on Wednesday of seeking to ‘drag out’ negotiations and said the first day had been ‘difficult’.
Russia is pushing for full control of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region as part of any deal, and has threatened to take it by force if Kyiv does not cave at the negotiating table.
But Ukraine has rejected this demand, which is politically and militarily fraught, and signalled it will not sign a deal without security guarantees that deter Russia from invading again.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The ensuing conflict has resulted in a tidal wave of destruction that has left entire cities in ruins, tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians dead and forced millions of people to flee their homes.
The United States has been pushing for an end to the nearly four-year war, but has so far failed to broker a compromise between Moscow and Kyiv
Servicemen from the strike drone platoon at an undisclosed location in the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine
A damaged building after a Russian drone hits residential areas in Sumy, northeastern Ukraine, on February 17, 2026
Hours before talks began, Russia fired 126 attack drones and a ballistic missile at Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian air force.
Russian drone and artillery attacks overnight and late Tuesday wounded at least one person and caused damage to buildings, according to Ukrainian regional authorities.
Russia occupies around one-fifth of Ukraine – including the Crimean peninsula it seized in 2014 – and areas that Moscow-backed separatists had taken prior to the 2022 invasion.
Ukraine says handing Russia more territory will effectively ‘reward’ Russia for invading and embolden it to attack again.
Russia has been slowly seizing territory across the sprawling front line for months, claiming control of villages in the southern Zaporizhzhia region and northern Sumy region on Wednesday.
But its wartime economic worries are mounting, with growth stagnating and a ballooning budget deficit as sanction-hit oil revenues drop to a five-year low.
