Russian and Ukrainian officials are in Geneva for US-brokered talks after almost 4 years of war

GENEVA (AP) — Delegations from Moscow and Kyiv were in Geneva on Tuesday for another round of U.S.-brokered peace talks, a week before the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his government’s delegation was in Switzerland, and Russian state news agency Tass said the Russian delegation also had arrived. Talks, due to be held over two days, were expected to start later in the day.

“Tough” discussions about the future of Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory are expected as U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, and son-in-law Jared Kushner, sit down with the delegations, according to a person familiar with the talks who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. That’s because Russian officials are still insisting that Ukraine cede control of its eastern Donbas region.

In Geneva, military leaders from the three countries will discuss how ceasefire monitoring will work, and what’s needed to implement it, the person said. During previous talks in Abu Dhabi, military leaders looked at how a demilitarized zone could be arranged and how everyone’s militaries could talk to one another, they said.

But expectations for any breakthrough in the latest negotiations are low, with neither side apparently ready to budge from their positions on key territorial issues, despite the United States setting a June deadline for a settlement.

Ukraine’s short-handed army is locked in a war of attrition with Russia’s bigger forces along the roughly 1,250-kilometer (750-mile) front line. Ukrainian civilians are enduring Russian aerial barrages that repeatedly knock out power and destroy homes.

The future of the almost 20% of Ukrainian land that Russia occupies or still covets is a central question in the talks, as are Kyiv’s demands for postwar security guarantees with a U.S. backstop to deter Moscow from invading again.

Trump described the Geneva meeting as “big talks.”

“Ukraine better come to the table fast,” he told reporters late Monday as he flew back to Washington from his home in Florida.

It wasn’t immediately clear what Trump was referring to in his comment about Ukraine, which has committed to and taken part in negotiations in the hope of ending Russia’s devastating onslaught.

The commander of the U.S. military — and NATO forces — in Europe, Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, and Secretary of the U.S. Army Dan Driscoll will attend the meeting in Geneva on behalf of the U.S. military and meet with their Russian and Ukrainian counterparts, Col. Martin O’Donnell, a spokesman for the U.S. commander said.

Overnight, Russia used almost 400 long-range drones and 29 missiles of various types to strike 12 regions of Ukraine, injuring nine people, including children, according to the Ukrainian president.

Zelenskyy said tens of thousands residents were left without heating and running water in the southern port city of Odesa.

Zelenskyy said Moscow should be “held accountable” for the relentless attacks, which he said undermine the U.S. push for peace.

“The more this evil comes from Russia, the harder it will be for everyone to reach any agreements with them. Partners must understand this. First and foremost, this concerns the United States,” the Ukrainian leader said on social media late Monday.

“We agreed to all realistic proposals from the United States, starting with the proposal for an unconditional and long-term ceasefire,” Zelenskyy noted.

American, Russian and Ukrainian military chiefs will discuss how ceasefire monitoring might work after any peace deal, the AP source said.

Talks earlier this year in Abu Dhabi focused on issues such as how a demilitarized zone might be set up in disputed areas and how all the sides’ militaries could remain in contact, the source said.

The commander of NATO forces in Europe, Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, and U.S. Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll will attend the talks and meet with their Russian and Ukrainian counterparts, said Col. Martin O’Donnell, a spokesman for Grynkewich.

The talks in Geneva took place as U.S. officials also held indirect talks with Iran in the Swiss city.

After the second round of talks in Abu Dhabi, members of the different delegations said they thought the talks had been “pretty good,” and that peace could be achieved “if everyone just agrees to it,” the person said.

Following the second round of talks in Abu Dhabi, the U.S said it reestablished direct military communication with Russia and that the commander of the U.S. military — and NATO forces — in Europe Gen. Alexus Grynkewich hoped to start high-level dialogue with Gen. Valery Gerasimov, the head of Russia’s military.

Grynkewich and Secretary of the U.S. Army Dan Driscoll, will attend the meeting in Geneva on behalf of the U.S. military and meet with their Russian and Ukrainian counterparts, Col. Martin O’Donnell, a spokesman for the U.S. commander said.

Grynkewich arrived Monday in Switzerland from Germany,

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Burrows reported from London. Illia Novikov in Kyiv, Ukraine contributed to this report.

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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine