Ukrainian negotiators are scheduled to meet with U.S. officials on Thursday to focus on rebuilding plans and related diplomatic steps, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced on Wednesday.
According to Zelenskiy, the session in Geneva will pair Ukraine’s lead negotiator, Rustem Umerov - who serves as secretary of the National Security and Defence Council - with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, identified by the president as the U.S. president's son-in-law. The teams are expected to begin with bilateral talks with the American delegation before moving to broader topics.
"First, it will be a bilateral meeting with the American side. The first question is the prosperity package, which is the package for Ukraine’s recovery, and they will discuss the details," Zelenskiy said, framing reconstruction as the immediate priority for the talks.
Reconstruction planning has become central to wider discussions about how to bring the conflict to an end. The war entered its fifth year this week, and Kyiv has made post-war recovery a core component of diplomatic negotiations.
Ukrainian officials are seeking large-scale financing commitments to restore infrastructure, industry and public services. Kyiv hopes to mobilize approximately $800 billion of public and private investment over the next decade to support the rebuilding effort. By contrast, the World Bank's most recent assessment, released on Monday, estimates reconstruction needs at about $588 billion. That World Bank estimate is based on damage and economic data collected from February 24, 2022 through December 31, 2025.
Zelenskiy also said the Geneva talks will include planning for a trilateral meeting that would involve Russia, with Kyiv expressing a hope that such a session could be convened in early March. He made clear, however, that any substantial financial support or investment hinges on progress toward a ceasefire and a formal peace agreement, both of which remain unresolved.
The president added that Ukrainian and U.S. negotiators will discuss details related to the exchange of prisoners of war between Ukraine and Russia. Negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow have continued to be mediated by U.S. envoys this year, but earlier meetings in the current cycle have not produced breakthroughs on critical issues such as territorial disputes. Ukrainian and Russian negotiators met this month for their third U.S.-mediated session so far this year and failed to reach agreement on key sticking points, according to Zelenskiy.
Context and next steps
- Thursday's Geneva meeting will begin with a bilateral discussion between Ukraine and the U.S., centering on the so-called prosperity package for recovery.
- Preparatory work will also aim to set the agenda for a potential trilateral meeting that would include Russia, tentatively hoped for in early March.
- Officials will address mechanisms for prisoner exchanges between Ukraine and Russia as part of the negotiating agenda.