Ukraine and Russia Fail to Reach Peace Deal in Geneva Talks

U.S.-mediated talks in Geneva between Ukrainian and Russian delegations ended after two days with no breakthrough, and the second day concluded abruptly after only about two hours, according to multiple reports.

“Russia and Ukraine held a second day of US‑mediated talks in Geneva described by both sides as “difficult”

Al Jazeera

Both sides described the sessions as difficult, and negotiators said more meetings would follow but gave no firm timetable.

Al Jazeera

Ukrainian officials framed the talks as intense and substantive in parts, Russian officials called them 'difficult but business-like', and international mediators stressed procedural progress even as the core political issues remained unresolved.

Negotiators left the Geneva talks still split on the fundamental political questions — chiefly territorial control of occupied areas and security guarantees — while some limited technical and military arrangements were reported as nearer to agreement.

Multiple outlets say Russia demands control over parts of Donetsk and other occupied territories, a demand Kyiv rejects without strong Western guarantees.

BBC

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant’s status also emerged as a sensitive and unresolved issue, with Ukraine seeking international or U.S. involvement and Russia rejecting outside oversight.

Public statements around the talks highlighted sharply different emphases.

President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukraine’s lead negotiator Rustem Umerov said the talks were intensive and that military and technical steps were discussed, while Russia’s chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky described the sessions as "difficult but business-like".

President Zelensky also accused Moscow of deliberately delaying a deal and publicly rebuked calls from U.S. President Donald Trump for Kyiv to make territorial concessions, comments that several outlets described as unfair or misplaced.

The Geneva round took place against a backdrop of continued heavy fighting and large-scale strikes.

Several outlets reported the strikes occurred hours before or during the talks, cutting power to hundreds of thousands and killing civilians.

CBS News

Sources give differing tallies and emphases—some report scores of attack drones and missiles, others list varying casualty totals—but all underscore that violence and damage to energy infrastructure complicated diplomacy and humanitarian conditions during a harsh winter.

Outlook after Geneva is guarded: U.S. officials and envoys framed continued talks as progress and pledged further diplomacy.

“The round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, held in Geneva with American mediation, ended without concrete results”

cotidianul.md

Analysts and market reactions signalled skepticism, noting that substantive political issues—territory, security guarantees and the Zaporizhzhia plant—remain unresolved and that major concessions appear unlikely without broad international guarantees.

cotidianul.md

European presence at the sidelines and proposals for prisoner exchanges or phased steps were highlighted as the most plausible near-term gains rather than a comprehensive settlement.