U.S.
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday (October 28, 2026) that a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky would be set up “very soon.”
The announcement came as Trump’s administration ramps up diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war, now in its fifth year. Mr. Mr. Zelensky and insisted Moscow intends to seize the rest of eastern Ukraine. Mr. In recent days, Mr. Trump has once again pivoted away from Ukraine and back to Mr.
Putin, who ordered the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, has consistently rejected face-to-face talks with Mr. Trump came to power in January 2025 promising to end the war in 24 hours — but over a year of U.S.-led talks have failed to produce a breakthrough, with tens of thousands killed.
“There’ll be a meeting set up very soon and I think a lot of progress could be made,” Mr. Trump told reporters. The Kremlin had previously said that a meeting between the three countries was planned to take place in the United Arab Emirates in November. Putin, trumpeting what he said was a deal for Russia to sell diesel and reduce prices sent soaring by his Iran war.
Zelensky said on Sunday that a trilateral meeting between Kyiv, Washington and Moscow would take place in November, aiming to restart stalled peace talks.
