Zelenskyy Reports Military Progress After Ukraine-Russia-US Talks in Geneva

Delegations from Ukraine, Russia, and the United States made notable progress on military matters during two days of negotiations in Geneva, although discussions on political questions remained difficult, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on February 18.

Speaking about the substance of the talks, Zelenskyy emphasized that negotiations followed two parallel tracks—military and political.

“As for the substance of the negotiations. First of all, you know there are two directions: military and political. Here I want to say that all three sides in the military direction were constructive. In my opinion, in principle, the military understand how to monitor a ceasefire and the end of the war,” Zelenskyy said.

According to the president, military representatives reached broad understanding on most issues, and any monitoring mechanism would definitely involve the American side, which he described as a constructive signal.

“All other details—where, how to monitor, technical nuances—all this General Hnatov will report to me in a broader format upon return,” he added.

Zelenskyy noted that the political dimension includes the most sensitive issues, such as eastern territories and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

“We see that there is groundwork, but for now the positions differ, because the negotiations were not easy. That is, in the military direction I heard progress. In the political direction—there was dialogue, and we agreed to move forward,” the president said.

He also stressed that full clarity on outcomes would only emerge after the negotiating team returns and can provide a detailed in-person briefing.

According to the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council secretary, Rustem Umerov, the negotiations focused on security parameters and mechanisms for implementing possible decisions. Some issues have been clarified, while others are still being discussed.

“We are focused on working out the key provisions necessary to finalize the process. This is a complex task that requires the agreement of all parties and time. There is progress, but no details yet. The next stage is to achieve the necessary level of agreement in order to submit the developed decisions to the presidents for consideration. Our task is to prepare a real, not a formal basis for this,” Umerov said.

The third round of trilateral negotiations aimed at ending Russia’s war against Ukraine took place in Geneva on February 17–18.

Earlier, Umerov said that in Geneva, Ukraine was working within a mandate approved by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and “work constructively, with focus and without excessive expectations. Our task is to promote as much as possible those solutions that can bring about lasting peace,” he stated.

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