Where things stand in the talks to end Russia’s war in Ukraine

to end nearly four years of fighting following Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine has bogged down over sharply conflicting positions on territory.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was on Monday for a meeting with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump鈥檚 son-in-law Jared Kushner following their that lasted over five hours. In a statement on X, Witkoff said they held 鈥渋n-depth discussions鈥� Sunday and 鈥渁 lot of progress was made.鈥�

Witkoff and other U.S. officials offered little detail on the two days of talks, but Russian and Ukrainian leaders have publicly described some of their demands.

Russia鈥檚 position

Russian President Vladimir Putin wants all the areas in four key regions that his forces have seized, as well as Crimea, which was illegally annexed in 2014, to be recognized as Russian territory. He also has demanded that Ukraine withdraw from some areas in eastern Ukraine that Moscow forces have not captured yet.

The Kremlin also insists that Ukraine abandon its bid to join NATO, limit the size of its army, grant official status to the Russian language and recognize the Russian Orthodox Church. It warns it won’t accept the deployment of any troops from NATO members and will view them as 鈥渓egitimate target.鈥�

At the same time, Russia has signaled that it wouldn’t object to Ukraine joining the European Union 鈥� a position that Moscow has taken before.

Russia has refused to halt the fighting until a comprehensive peace deal is reached.

Ukraine鈥檚 position

Kyiv has said it鈥檚 ready to halt the fighting along the existing front line 鈥� although it would not officially cede territory currently under Russian control. It has rejected Moscow鈥檚 demands that it pull back its troops from other areas that Russia has not been able to take by force.

Zelenskyy on Sunday also rejected a compromise U.S. idea for Ukraine to withdraw from the Donetsk region and create a demilitarized free economic zone there.

He has expressed readiness to drop Ukraine鈥檚 bid to join NATO if the U.S. and other Western nations give Kyiv security guarantees similar to those offered to members of the military alliance.

Zelenskyy and his European allies have repeatedly accused Putin of dragging out the talks to extend Russian territorial gains.

Trump’s relationship with Zelenskyy and Putin

Trump has appeared to voice with Zelenskyy, saying the Ukrainian leader should accept the U.S. proposal to cede some territory to Russia, arguing Moscow has the 鈥渦pper hand鈥� in the war.

Trump, mirroring a view expressed by Putin, repeated his call for Ukraine to hold a wartime presidential election even though martial law doesn鈥檛 allow it and Zelenskyy, elected in 2019, had his five-year term extended because of the fighting.

Moscow also hasn鈥檛 fully backed the White House plan. While Putin has praised Trump鈥檚 peace efforts, he also noted that some parts of the plan were unacceptable for Moscow and needed more work. Kremlin officials accused Ukraine and its European allies of 鈥渨orsening鈥� the initial 28-point U.S. plan with their alterations.