Ukraine and U.S. Officials say Progress made on Ending War With Russia

Ukrainian and U.S. officials signaled notable progress on Sunday as they continued negotiations over a contentious American proposal to bring an end to the war with Russia - even as President Trump publicly castigated Kyiv's leadership for what he described as a lack of gratitude.

The meeting, held in Geneva, came just days before a Thursday deadline set by Mr. Trump for Ukraine to respond to a 28-point peace plan. The draft includes several provisions long deemed unacceptable by Kyiv, such as relinquishing occupied territories, dramatically shrinking its armed forces, and limiting certain categories of weapons.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who headed the U.S. delegation alongside special envoy Steve Witkoff, described Sunday's talks as "substantive" and "highly constructive." Speaking with reporters, Mr. Rubio said both delegations were reviewing the document line by line and making revisions to reduce disagreements. The two sides, he said, were gradually edging toward terms that Washington and Kyiv could both accept.

Andriy Yermak, who is leading Ukraine's team, echoed that sentiment, saying the negotiations had yielded "very positive momentum" and would continue through the week.

The relatively upbeat tone contrasted with a lengthy social-media post from Mr. Trump earlier in the day, in which he criticized Ukraine and its European partners - many of whom have been largely sidelined from the current process.

"Ukraine's leadership has shown zero appreciation for what we're doing," he wrote, adding that Europe "continues to purchase Russian oil."

President Volodymyr Zelensky, who earlier emphasized that his delegation was working "as constructively as possible" on the U.S. proposals, later issued a statement affirming his support for the Geneva dialogue.

"We value American leadership, and we are grateful for what the United States and President Trump are doing for our security," he wrote.

This is not the first time Mr. Trump has accused Ukraine of being insufficiently grateful. During a tense Oval Office meeting with Mr. Zelensky in February, he sharply rebuked the Ukrainian president - prompting Kyiv's officials to repeatedly underline their appreciation in public remarks since.

European governments, meanwhile, have rushed to weigh in on the U.S. initiative and to demonstrate their continued backing of Ukraine. Leaders from Britain, France, Germany, and several other nations issued a joint statement on Saturday describing the American proposal as a starting point that still required substantial revisions, particularly clauses limiting the size of Ukraine's military.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reinforced that view on Sunday, saying no sovereign state should face restrictions that leave it vulnerable to future aggression, warning that such limits would undermine the continent's security architecture.

Moscow offered no immediate reaction to Sunday's developments. A U.S. official confirmed that groundwork was being laid for separate discussions between Washington and Moscow in the near future.

The coming days are expected to bring a flurry of diplomatic activity. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would speak with President Vladimir V. Putin on Monday about the negotiations, and French President Emmanuel Macron signaled that leaders from several Western countries, including Britain and Canada, plan to confer on Tuesday.

Although Mr. Trump has pushed for a Thursday response from Ukraine, he suggested the deadline could be moved "if things are going well." When asked on Saturday whether the current proposal represented his final offer, he replied, "No."

Many in Ukraine have dismissed the U.S. plan as capitulation, arguing that it aligns too closely with long-standing Kremlin demands.

Confusion over the proposal also persisted in Washington. Several senators claimed Saturday that Mr. Rubio had described the document as "not the administration's plan" but effectively a list of Russian demands. The State Department called that assertion "blatantly false," and Mr. Rubio emphatically rejected it, saying the proposal was written by the United States with input from both Kyiv and Moscow.

"It is a robust framework for ongoing negotiations," he said.