Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, seeking to advance a plan to end the war in Ukraine as diplomatic and military challenges persist.

The meeting came shortly after a phone call lasting more than an hour between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov described the conversation as “friendly, benevolent and businesslike,” adding that the two leaders agreed to speak again soon following Trump’s talks with Zelensky.

Welcoming the Ukrainian leader, Trump praised Zelensky as “brave” and said he believes both Zelensky and Putin genuinely want the war to end. Zelensky said he would raise the issue of territorial concessions during the talks, a matter that remains a red line for Kyiv, particularly regarding the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.

Zelensky is seeking to soften a U.S. proposal that would require Ukrainian forces to withdraw completely from Donbas — a long-standing Russian demand that would effectively mean ceding territory currently held by Ukrainian troops. He noted that negotiators from both sides have already discussed step-by-step measures aimed at bringing peace closer.

The diplomatic efforts unfold as Russia steps up its military operations. Overnight, Russian guided aerial bombs struck residential areas in the eastern city of Sloviansk, killing one person and injuring several others. The strikes followed a major assault on Kyiv involving ballistic missiles and drones, which left at least one person dead and dozens wounded just days before the high-level talks.

From Moscow, Ushakov said Putin told Trump that a 60-day ceasefire proposed by the European Union and Ukraine would only prolong the war. He reiterated that Kyiv must make a decisive political move on Donbas to achieve a complete cessation of hostilities. Ushakov also confirmed that Russia and the United States agreed to establish working groups focused on economic and security issues as part of broader efforts to resolve the conflict.