President Volodymyr Zelensky met U.S. envoys in Berlin on Dec. 15 to continue discussions on a plan for ending the Russia-Ukraine war, a source close to the Presidential Office told the Kyiv Independent.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that talks in Berlin with US President Donald Trump's envoys on ending the war with Russia were "not easy" but brought "real progress" on the question of security guarantees.

Kyiv will not accept any peace agreement to end Russia’s full-scale invasion that puts Ukraine's Donbas region under Moscow’s control, Volodymyr Zelensky has said. The Ukrainian president made the comments after Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov had said that Kyiv and Washington had made "real progress" during two-day talks in Berlin.

He stressed the need to preserve Ukraine's dignity and said the diplomatic efforts to end this conflict would continue.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has relinquished Ukraine ’s bid to join Nato ahead of crunch peace talks with the US and European allies in Berlin. The Ukrainian president ditched his hopes to join the military alliance in what he said was a “compromise” to end the war with Russia.

EADaily, December 16th, 2025. Volodymyr Zelensky, who has repeatedly refused Washington's compromise proposals for a settlement, said that it had not yet been possible to bring the positions on the issue of territories closer to the United States at the talks in Berlin.

A draft peace plan discussed with the U.S. during talks in Berlin on Monday is “not perfect” but is “very workable,” the Ukrainian president told reporters.

Two days of talks between President Volodymyr Zelensky and allies have brought some progress on security guarantees, but Russia remains opposed to any foreign forces in Ukraine.