A new round of talks will be held in Geneva on Thursday between representatives of Kiev and Washington, hoping to achieve progress on the war file in Ukraine. For its part, Russia announced that the Kremlin's envoy for economic affairs, Kirill Dmitriev, will head to Geneva on the same day "to continue negotiations with the Americans on economic issues," according to what the official Russian TASS agency reported, citing a source. After that, tripartite talks are expected to be held, including Russia.

Published on: 02/26/2026 - 08:13 Last updated: 02/26/2026 - 13:08

As the war in Ukraine enters its fifth year, diplomatic efforts continue in the hope of reaching a peace agreement, as Ukrainian negotiator Rustam Umarov meets Thursday in Geneva with American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, on the verge of new tripartite talks expected with the Russians in March.

The meeting will be held after new night attacks on Ukraine, especially in Kiev, where an Agence France-Presse journalist reported hearing explosions in the center of the capital after the authorities warned of Russian air strikes, while other major cities were also targeted, such as Kharkiv, Zaporizhya, and Kryvyi Ryg, according to local officials.

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On the eve of the talks, a call took place between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky.

Zelensky subsequently announced that his call with Trump "addressed the issues that our representatives will discuss tomorrow in Geneva during the bilateral meeting, as well as preparations for the next meeting of the full negotiating teams in a tripartite format at the beginning of March."

Zelensky expected that this meeting would constitute "an opportunity to move the talks to the leaders' level," and said that Trump "supports this sequence of steps. It is the only way to resolve all complex and sensitive issues and end the war."

Presidential advisor Dmytro Lytvyn said the call lasted "about 30 minutes."

Zelensky stated that the two American envoys participated in the call.

Ukrainian chief negotiator Rustam Umarov, Witkov, and Kushner will meet in Geneva on Thursday.

For its part, Russia announced that the Kremlin's envoy for economic affairs, Kirill Dmitriev, will go to Geneva on Thursday "to continue negotiations with the Americans on economic issues," according to what the official Russian TASS agency reported, citing a source.

Dmitriev has previously met repeatedly with Trump's envoys to discuss the ongoing negotiations in search of a way out of the war in Ukraine.

An exchange of the remains of soldiers killed in the war

Prisoner exchanges, since the start of the large-scale Russian offensive, are one of the few tangible results of contacts between the two countries.

In this context, Russia handed over the remains of a thousand Ukrainian soldiers to Kiev, according to what a Russian official said Thursday, while Ukraine returned the bodies of 35 Russians.

Exchanges of the remains of soldiers killed in the war regularly take place between the two countries, in a file that is considered one of the limited areas of cooperation between the two parties.

Moscow's chief negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, said on social media, "The bodies of a thousand Ukrainian soldiers were delivered to Ukraine. Russia received the bodies of 35 Russian fighters."

He posted a photo showing people wearing white suits and blue gloves lifting a white body bag from the back of a refrigerated truck.

"Paths that may lead to a peace agreement"

Washington is pressing to put an end to the war that broke out with the beginning of the Russian attack on Ukraine in February 2022, and has since turned into the most violent armed conflict in Europe since World War II, leaving hundreds of thousands dead and widespread destruction, especially in the east and south of the country.

Read also: Von der Leyen: The European Union will lend Ukraine 90 billion euros “one way or another”

Zelensky explained on Wednesday that the talks will also address an economic "revitalization" plan for Ukraine, which has been exhausted by four years of war, in addition to preparing for a new exchange of prisoners of war between Kiev and Moscow.

Zelensky calls for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which Putin has so far refused.

Witkov said on Tuesday that the Ukrainian-American meeting on Thursday aims to "explore different paths that could lead to a peace agreement."

However, the negotiations, based on an American plan revealed in late 2025, are still faltering, especially regarding the fate of Donbass, the large industrial basin in eastern Ukraine, as Moscow demands the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the areas it still controls in the Donetsk region, which Kiev rejects.

In mid-February, Geneva hosted a previous round of talks between the Ukrainians and the Russians, mediated by America, without producing actual results.

Zelensky announced on Tuesday, on the fourth anniversary of the outbreak of war, that “Putin did not achieve his goals, nor did he break the will of the Ukrainians,” despite the fierce battles and daily Russian bombing.

France 24 / AFP

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