Ukrainian and Russian negotiators wrapped up the first day of the latest round of US-brokered peace talks in Geneva, Switzerland, on February 17. Both delegations confirmed talks in working groups will continue tomorrow.
"Discussions focused on practical issues and the mechanics of possible solutions. For today, both the political and military blocs have completed their work," Ukrainian chief negotiator Rustem Umerov said in a social-media post, adding that he will now brief President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the day's progress.
Russian media quoted a source in the Russian delegation saying that the talks went on for six hours and were "very tense."
Sources in Washington told RFE/RL that national-security advisers from Britain, France, Germany, and Italy were observing the talks, which came hours after another round of Russian strikes on targets across Ukraine with hundreds of drones and missiles.
Zelenskyy insisted that Russia's actions must not be overlooked in Geneva. Ukraine's negotiators "should definitely ask questions about these air strikes – questions primarily to the American side, which suggested to both us and Russia to refrain from strikes," he said in his daily social media address.
The meetings in Geneva also come a week before the fourth anniversary of Russia's all-out war on Ukraine, a conflict that has killed or wounded some 2 million people on both sides.
The US-led efforts to resolve the conflict have progressed further than any other time since the months after the February 24, 2022, invasion. However, Russia has shown little inclination to back away from its hard-line demands, which include Kyiv relinquishing territory it still holds in the eastern Donbas region.
Ukraine, meanwhile, has pushed Washington and European allies for iron-clad security guarantees that would help protect it against future Russian aggression.
Both Ukraine and Russia have described earlier rounds of talks focusing on granular security issues as positive.
However, the Russian delegation attending the new talks includes Vladimir Medinsky, a revisionist historian and former culture minister whose views Ukraine has derided as "pseudo-historical."
Ahead of the talks, the leader of the Ukrainian delegation, Kyrylo Budanov, appeared to take a jab at Medinsky, saying, "We will discuss the lessons of our history with our colleagues and look for the right conclusions."
The two men charged with leading the US effort are special envoy Steve Witkoff and the son-in-law of President Donald Trump, Jared Kushner.
On the eve of the talks, Trump, who has been frustrated by his inability to resolve the conflict, appeared to lean on Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"We have big talks. It's gonna be very easy," he told reporters. "Ukraine better come to the table fast. That's all I'm telling you."
Both on the battlefield and in negotiations, Russia appears to believe it has the upper hand. While Russian forces have been grinding forward at a snail's pace across the front line, Moscow has devastated Ukraine's energy infrastructure. Millions have struggled amid an unusually cold winter without heat or electricity.
On February 17, Donbasenergo, a Ukrainian energy company, said three of its employees were killed when a drone struck the car they were traveling in. Ukraine's military said Russia fired more than 420 drones and missiles at targets across the country. Emergency workers reported wounded civilians in the Black Sea port city of Odesa and the northern city of Sumy.
In northern Russia, Telegram channels reported an explosion at a military facility in Sertolovo, in the Leningrad region, killing at least two people. There were no immediate reports on the cause of the blast.
Earlier, in Russian-annexed Crimea, Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Moscow-installed administrator of the port city of Sevastopol, said more than 24 drones were shot down during "one of the longest attacks in recent times."
