As Trump and Zelenskyy meet in Florida, Kyiv hopes this time will be different

President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy return to the negotiating room on Sunday with a familiar, fraught task: trying to chart a path toward ending Russia’s war against Ukraine.

President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy return to the negotiating room on Sunday with a familiar, fraught task: trying once again to chart a path toward ending Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The two leaders have met three times since Trump took office for a second time in January, with each encounter carrying high expectations but producing few concrete results, and sometimes even appearing to push a resolution further away.

As Kyiv presses Trump to deliver security guarantees, questions remain over whether the Florida summit marks a genuine turning point or another round of high-stakes diplomacy with little for Zelenskyy to take home.

Eight months ago, a White House meeting in February ended in acrimony and failed to produce the breakthrough Trump had promised on “day one” of his administration.

European leaders flanked Zelenskyy on his next visit to the White House in August as they grappled for a voice in the faltering negotiations, but Europe has since remained largely shut out of high-level talks as Russia refuses to budge from its maximalist demands.