Zelenskyy Reports Progress in Negotiations with U.S. And Russia

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on February 18, 2026, that progress had been made in the military track of negotiations between Ukraine, the United States, and Russia, following a two-day meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. However, he indicated limited advancement in the political component of the discussions.

According to a statement from Zelenskyy, relayed via his Telegram channel, “Our negotiating team informed me about the two-day negotiations. As for their content… You know that 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, from the briefing that I just had).”

Zelenskyy noted that while discussions on political issues were ongoing, positions remained divergent. “As for the political component – these are all sensitive issues that you know about – we see that there are developments, while the positions are different, due to the fact that the negotiations were not simple,” he stated.

The Ukrainian delegation is expected to provide Zelenskyy with a detailed report on the negotiations. “That is, in the military direction I heard progress, in the political direction – well, there was a dialogue, we agreed to move on, we agreed to continue. But there I did not hear such progress as in the military direction,” Zelenskyy concluded.

Rustem Umerov, Head of the Ukrainian delegation and Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, described the perform in Geneva as “intensive and substantive.” He stated that security parameters and implementation mechanisms were discussed, with some issues clarified and others requiring further coordination. “The political and military blocs worked within the delegation,” Umerov said.

Umerov affirmed that “there is progress,” but acknowledged the complexity of the process. “This is complex work that requires coordination of all parties and time,” he added. “The next stage is to achieve the necessary level of coherence in order to submit the developed decisions for consideration by the presidents. Our task is to prepare a real, not formal basis for this. Ukraine is working constructively. The ultimate goal is unchanged – a just and sustainable world.”

The negotiations began on February 17, 2026, with the second day commencing on February 18, as announced by Umerov. Vladimir Medinsky, the head of the Russian delegation, confirmed the conclusion of the February 18 negotiations, characterizing them as “difficult, but businesslike” and lasting approximately two hours.