Gennady Gatilov, Russia’s representative to the UN office in Geneva, leaves the Intercontinental Hotel following the conclusion of US-brokered peace talks between Russia and Ukraine on February 18, 2026 in Geneva, Switzerland. | Photo credit: Reuters
Ukraine and Russia have made some progress in US-brokered talks in Geneva, but no compromise has been reached on the key issue of territory, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday (Feb 18, 2026).
The United States is pressing for an end to the nearly four-year war that has killed tens of thousands of people and devastated much of eastern and southern Ukraine, but Moscow and Kyiv are at odds over who should get land in a post-war settlement.
Russia is pushing for full control of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region as part of any deal and has threatened to take it by force if Kyiv is not at the negotiating table.
But Ukraine rejected the demand, saying it was politically and militarily fraught and signaled it would not sign the deal without security guarantees preventing Russia from invading again.
“We can see that some groundwork has been done, but at the moment the positions are different, because the negotiations are not easy,” Mr. Zelensky said in a message to reporters. AFPafter the negotiations are over.
The two sides agreed on “almost all issues” related to the ceasefire monitoring mechanism involving the United States, Mr. Zelenskyy said.
But the sensitive issues of the fate of occupied territory in Ukraine’s east and the future status of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant remain unresolved, Mr. Zelenskyy added.
The head of the Russian delegation said the talks were “difficult, but businesslike” and further talks were planned for the future.
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The ensuing conflict left entire cities in ruins, tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians dead, and millions of people displaced from their homes.
deadlock
For the Geneva talks, the Kremlin reinstated nationalist hawk and former culture minister Vladimir Medinsky as its chief negotiator.
Kyiv was led by Ukrainian National Security Secretary Rustem Umerov.
Mr. Umerov said the talks were “serious and realistic”, later in a brief statement to reporters.
The next step, he said, was to try to reach a level of consensus to “submit the advanced decisions to the President’s consideration.”
Donald Trump put pressure on Ukraine on Monday (16 February), saying they “better come to the table fast”.
But Mr. Zelenskyy said Axios On Tuesday (17 February) Ukraine – and not Russia – would “not right” face further pressure, saying lasting peace would not be achieved if “victory” was handed to Moscow.
“I hope it’s not his tactics and decision,” said Mr. Zelenskyy said.
Russia occupies a fifth of Ukraine, including the Crimean peninsula it annexed in 2014 – and areas held by Moscow-backed separatists ahead of the 2022 invasion.
Ukraine claims that ceding more territory to Russia would effectively “reward” Russia for attacking and embolden it to attack again.
Russian drone and artillery strikes overnight and late on Tuesday (February 17) injured at least one person and damaged buildings, Ukrainian regional officials said.
Mr. Zelenskyy said officials from Britain, France, Germany and Italy were also in Geneva for talks with Ukrainians, adding that European participation was “essential” for any final deal to be stable.
On Wednesday (18 February) Russia claimed control of villages in the southern Zaporizhia region and northern Sumy region, slowly gaining ground along a wide front for months.
But its wartime economic worries are mounting, with a growing budget deficit as growth slows and approved oil revenues fall to a five-year low.
Published – February 18, 2026 05:40 pm IST
