The main talks between the Ukrainian and US delegations in Geneva are now under way. It comes after European allies worked up counter proposals to a US-Russia 28-point peace plan that caused serious alarm in Kyiv, the West and even among some US officials. Follow the latest.
Sunday 23 November 2025 16:46, UK
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We expect to hear from both the US and Ukrainian delegations in Geneva shortly.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio and Ukrainian presidential adviser Andrii Yermak will both read statements – but will not take questions.
It comes after the two sides sat down in Switzerland to discuss the US-Russia 28-point peace plan.
Watch live in the stream at the top of the page when they begin and we’ll bring you any updates here…
Donald Trump and Sir Keir Starmer have spoken today.
We expected the two leaders to talk, after they spoke previously yesterday.
A Downing Street spokesperson confirmed they had held a call, saying:
“The prime minister spoke to the president of the United States Donald Trump today. The leaders discussed various aspects of the high level discussions taking place in Geneva today on the US peace plan for Ukraine. They agreed that we all must work together at this critical moment to bring about a just and lasting peace. They agreed to keep in touch.”
Our defence analyst Professor Michael Clarke offers his take on the latest on peace talks in Geneva and the European counter proposals to the US-Russia 28-point peace plan.
Speaking with presenter Matt Barbet, he tells us:
“Ukraine are right to call it a capitulation document, they need some sense that they are not wide open to the next Russian push, which undoubtedly will follow maybe in six months, maybe in two years, maybe after Trump leaves office, who knows? But there will be another Russian push and the Ukrainians can’t go into the future with no sense that they can’t defend themselves.”
He also points out that opposition to the 28-point plan includes Republican senators, Europe, Western officials and more. With only Russia and Trump’s team supporting it.
Watch his full analysis here…
The main talks between the US and Ukraine are now under way in Geneva.
There are two locations for today’s discussions, with preliminary discussions taking place at the InterContinental before official discussions are held at the US Mission building, both in Geneva.
Reuters news agency, citing an unnamed US official, claims the talks have been “productive and even conclusive in some areas”.
The Ukrainian delegation, led by presidential chief of staff Andrii Yermak is talking with US secretary of state Marco Rubio, army secretary Dan Driscoll and Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff.
Earlier this morning, European and Ukrainian representatives met.
Those present for the US include:
As a reminder…
The talks are being held after a draft of a US-Russia 28-point peace plan was published.
European allies came up with counter proposals earlier today (see our 15.40 post for more).
It caused alarm among Kyiv, its allies in Europe and officials in the US as it demanded Ukraine give up territory and severely cap its army.
Reuters news agency reports on some of the details of the European counter proposal to the US-Russia peace plan.
The original 28-point plan was criticised by many for being too punitive to Ukraine and demanding it cede territory and slash the size of its armed forces.
Citing a document seen by its reporters, Reuters says the European plan contains the following:
Here’s a reminder of the original 28-point plan…
A Ukrainian MP tells Sky News the country didn’t give up in 2022 when Russia launched its full-scale invasion, and it doesn’t intend to now.
Kira Rudik was asked on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips whether her country would choose between an ally or dignity – in reference to previous comments from Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
She said:
“This was never a choice. We didn’t choose to capitulate in 2022. We do not intend to do this right now. We are a free country. We are a free nation and we will continue fighting.”
Watch her full interview here…
Just minutes after Donald Trump criticised Ukraine’s leadership for, in his opinion, not showing enough gratitude (see our previous post), a top Kyiv security official says “we appreciate our American partners”.
Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, is one of the representatives from Ukraine in Geneva for talks today.
He posted on social media within the last few minutes saying:
“Our current proposals while still not finalised include many Ukrainian priorities. We appreciate our American partners working closely with us to understand our concerns to reach this critical point and we expect to make more progress today.”
His message echoes that of Zelenskyy’s earlier (see our 14.18 post), saying that Ukrainian priorities were being pushed forward.
But it’s also pointed in stressing appreciation for Washington.
We’ve just heard from Zelenskyy and in the last few minutes Donald Trump has also offered his latest take.
The US president posted on his Truth Social network saying:
“UKRAINE ‘LEADERSHIP’ HAS EXPRESSED ZERO GRATITUDE FOR OUR EFFORTS, AND EUROPE CONTINUES TO BUY OIL FROM RUSSIA.”
Much of his post is repeating claims we’ve previously heard from Trump, including saying the war would never have begun if he were president and criticising his predecessor Joe Biden.
It also echoes Trump’s previous criticism of Zelenskyy from an explosive meeting with the Ukrainian leader in the Oval Office earlier this year, where Trump berated him in front of the world’s media.
The attack on Kyiv is also pointed because it comes just minutes after Zelenskyy suggested the US peace plan may take into account Ukraine’s national security (see our previous post for more).
Read Trump’s full post here:
We’ve just heard once more from Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Ukrainian leader has offered a few updates this morning as talks in Geneva are ongoing.
He’s just said that “there is an understanding” that Washington’s peace plan may “include a number of elements based on Ukrainian perspectives and critical for Ukrainian national interests.”
He adds: “Further work is ongoing to make all elements truly effective in achieving the main goal anticipated by our people: to finally put an end to the bloodshed and war.”
He tweeted the following:
Zelenskyy has also spoken to Canada’s Mark Carney and leaders from Croatia and Luxembourg this morning.
Top European and Ukrainian envoys have conferred ahead of a meeting with US secretary of state Marco Rubio.
The head of the Ukrainian delegation, presidential chief of staff Andrii Yermak, spoke with national security advisers from the UK, France and Germany.
Rubio was expected to join the talks together with army secretary Dan Driscoll and Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff.
“The next meeting is with the US delegation. We are in a very constructive mood,” Yermak said.
French defence official Alice Rufo said the key points of discussion would include the US-Russian peace plan’s restrictions on the Ukrainian army, which she described as “a limitation on its sovereignty”.
Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that he would hold a phone call with Vladimir Putin on Monday.
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