By Kevin Liptak, CNN
West Palm Beach, Florida (CNN) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives here Sunday as his frozen capital of Kyiv comes under assault by Russian missiles and drones, a deadly reminder from the war’s aggressor that its attacks would continue even amid accelerated peace talks.
The 1 p.m. ET Mar-a-Lago meeting between Zelensky and President Donald Trump, announced only two days beforehand, is intended to close gaps in the original 28-point peace plan that Trump first proposed last month and which Ukraine has since revised to 20 points. Intensive work has been underway by American envoys to finalize a proposal both Ukraine and Russia can agree on.
Trump, who has been in Palm Beach since December 20, will interrupt his holiday break for the discussion. The meeting was arranged after Zelensky held an hourlong phone call late last week with Steve Witkoff, Trump’s foreign envoy, and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law who is working to finalize the peace agreement.
Trump said earlier this month he didn’t think meetings with Zelensky or his European allies would be useful unless they were close to reaching a deal, a sign of the negotiations’ advanced stage. American officials have described significant progress in the peace efforts, with a US official saying earlier this month that 90% of the terms of the deal had been settled. Zelensky affirmed that figure Friday.
“It isn’t easy. No one is saying that it will be 100% right away, but nevertheless, we must bring the desired result closer with every such meeting, every such conversation,” he said.
The remaining 10% have proved difficult to resolve and include the thorny issue of land concessions that will be necessary to end the nearly four-year war. Russia has not backed off its maximalist demands, including that Ukraine surrender the entire eastern Donbas region.
Zelensky, however, is no longer ruling out concessions entirely, and says he would bring the peace plan up for a referendum if Russia agrees to a ceasefire. (Ukraine’s constitution requires any changes to the country’s borders to be approved in a referendum.)
The US side has offered “thought-provoking” ideas on how to resolve the impasse, one US official said, including the development of an “economic free zone” in the eastern part of Ukraine.
Also unresolved is the fate of the Russia-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest. Zelensky said Kyiv proposes the plant be operated by a joint enterprise between the US and Ukraine, with 50% of the electricity output going to Ukraine and the remainder allocated by the US.
Russia will not be represented at Sunday’s meeting, and it remains unclear whether Moscow is willing to agree to an immediate ceasefire that would allow a peace plan to take hold. Trump has frequently pointed to both Ukraine and Russia as obstacles to peace.
Speaking a day before the meeting, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that “if Kyiv is not willing to resolve the matter peacefully, Russia will accomplish all the aims of the special military operation by military means,” using a euphemism for the war in Ukraine, according to Russian state media service TASS.
Russia launched 519 drones and 40 missiles at Ukraine overnight into Saturday, according to Ukraine’s air force. Zelensky said Saturday morning that while Russian officials are engaging in talks to end fighting, the ongoing violence speaks for itself.
American officials are hopeful the meeti