Russian and Ukrainian delegations are set to meet in Geneva on Tuesday, Feb. 17, for another round of Washington-brokered talks aimed at ending the war.
Ahead of the negotiations, US President Donald Trump urged Kyiv to move quickly toward an agreement.
“Ukraine better come to the table, fast,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday.
Two previous US-mediated rounds in Abu Dhabi produced no breakthrough. While both sides described the discussions as productive, they remained deeply divided over territory, with Moscow maintaining demands for sweeping political and territorial concessions – terms Kyiv rejects as capitulation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia’s continued strikes underscore its attitude toward diplomacy.
“Even on the eve of the trilateral meetings in Geneva, the Russian army has no orders other than to continue striking Ukraine. This speaks volumes about how Russia regards the partners’ diplomatic efforts,” Zelensky wrote on social media.
“Only with sufficient pressure on Russia and clear security guarantees for Ukraine can this war realistically be brought to an end,” he added.
The Kremlin said the Geneva talks will be held behind closed doors with no media present.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has reported recent battlefield gains, recapturing 201 square kilometers (78 square miles) last week, according to an AFP analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War.
ISW said the counterattacks likely exploited Russian communication problems linked to disrupted access to Starlink.
Most of the gains were concentrated about 80 kilometers east of Zaporizhzhia, an area near Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, which remains under Russian control and is expected to feature in negotiations.
For the Geneva talks, Moscow has reinstated nationalist hardliner and former culture minister Vladimir Medinsky as chief negotiator.
“This time, we plan to discuss a broader set of issues, focusing on key ones related to the territories and other demands,” a spokesperson for Vladimir Putin told reporters, explaining the personnel change.
Medinsky is an ideologue close to Vladimir Putin, who has been linked to Kremlin propaganda efforts in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories. He also heads the Russian Military Historical Society.
Observers have recalled his role in earlier talks, where he cited fabricated quotes attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte and Otto von Bismarck – claims later debunked by Ukrainian officials and historians.
Kyiv’s delegation will be led by former Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, with Presidential Office chief Kyrylo Budanov also taking part. The White House is expected to send Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
Russian media reported that Moscow will dispatch a delegation of at least 15 people, including Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin.
Umerov said on Telegram Monday evening, Feb. 16, that the Ukrainian delegation had already arrived in Geneva.
According to Umerov, the agenda has been agreed in advance and the team is ready to work. He stressed that Ukrainian officials are prepared for constructive dialogue and substantive discussions on security and humanitarian issues, with the aim of moving toward a dignified and sustainable peace.
Kyiv plans to raise the issue of an “energy truce.”
Russia, meanwhile, has said it intends to discuss territorial questions under the so-called “Anchorage formula,” which envisions freezing the front line and formalizing Russian control over Donbas.
Russian officials arrived in Geneva early Tuesday for talks, a source in the delegation told AFP. The aircraft carrying the Russian team landed at around 8 a.m. Kyiv time (06:00 GMT), the source said.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said last week that negotiations remain far from complete, dismissing optimistic claims of progress.
Referring to earlier talks in Abu Dhabi, he said there was “still a long way to go,” while earlier accusing Washington of backing away from proposals discussed in Anchorage.
Trump told reporters on Feb. 13 that Zelensky was “going to have to get moving” on peace talks.
“Russia wants to make a deal, and Zelensky’s going to have to get moving, otherwise he’s going to miss a great opportunity. He has to move,” he said as he departed the White House for North Carolina.