skip to contentAdvertisementZelenskyy said any compromises on territory should be decided by the Ukrainian people in a potential referendum.By: Express Web Desk December 27, 2025 12:53 AM IST First published on: Dec 27, 2025 at 12:52 AM IST ShareWhatsapptwitterFacebookUkrainian President also said it's not yet clear to him whether Russia is prepared to agree to Trump's plan in the first place. (Photo: Reuters)Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that during his meeting with US President Donald Trump on Sunday, he hopes to agree on a framework for ending the ongoing war.Announcing the meeting, Zelenskyy said “a lot can be decided before the New Year,” as Washington drives efforts to end Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine, Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two.Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to meet Donald Trump on Sunday in Florida. (Photo: Reuters)Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet Donald Trump“As for the sensitive issues: We will discuss both Donbas and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. We will certainly discuss other issues as well,” he told reporters in a WhatsApp chat.According to Axios, Zelenskyy stated that he hoped to agree on a peace framework with Trump during the meeting and that he would be willing to submit that framework to a referendum in Ukraine if Russia agrees to a ceasefire.Ukrainian servicemen attend a parade on Orthodox Christmas eve in downtown Lviv, Ukraine, on Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Mykola Tys)Zelenskyy ready for a referendumHe, however, said that the referendum would be possible only if Russia agrees to a ceasefire of at least 60 days.Story continues below this adThe Ukrainian President also said it’s not yet clear to him whether Russia is prepared to agree to Trump’s plan in the first place. “I have some intelligence … but I’m at the moment when I want to believe only the words of leaders,” he told Axios.also read ‘May he perish’: Zelenskyy’s death wish on Christmas for Putin as Russia launches fresh strikesTo end the war, Moscow wants Ukraine to withdraw from the parts of the eastern Donetsk region that Russian troops have failed to occupy during almost four years of war, as it seeks full control of the Donbas, comprising the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Kyiv wants the fighting to be halted at the current battle lines.In this photo taken on Saturday Dec. 20, 2025 and provided by Ukraine’s 24th Mechanized Brigade press service, ruins in the town of Kostyantynivka, the site of heavy battles with the Russian troops in the Donetsk region, Ukraine. (Oleg Petrasiuk/Ukraine’s 24th Mechanized Brigade via AP)The US is seeking a compromise, proposing a free economic zone if Ukraine leaves the area.The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s biggest, is located on the front line and is controlled by Russian forces.Story continues below this adWhy referendum in Ukraine?Zelenskyy said any compromises on territory should be decided by the Ukrainian people in a potential referendum.Most ReadAccording to Zelenskyy, he would still like to negotiate a better position on territory. But if the plan demands “a very difficult” decision on that issue, he said he believes the best path forward will be to put the entire 20-point plan to a referendum.An elderly man looks out of his broken window as an apartment building was hit by a Russian drone during an aerial attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)Explaining the logic behind his demand for a 60-day ceasefire for the referendum to be held, Zelenskyy said it was important for the people of Ukraine to feel safe.“If people don’t turn out to vote due to security concerns, the result could seem illegitimate. It is better to not have a referendum than have a referendum where people do not have the possibility to come and vote,” he said.AdvertisementAdvertisementLoading Taboola...