US President Donald Trump expressed disappointment after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had not yet reviewed Washington’s proposal aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war, despite days of negotiations between American and Ukrainian delegations.

The tension between Washington and Kyiv grew on Sunday after U.S. President Donald Trump publicly criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for “not yet reading” the latest American peace proposal designed to end the nearly four-year Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the Kennedy Center Honors ceremony, Trump said he was “a little bit disappointed” to learn that Zelenskyy had not gone through the updated proposal. “His people love it, but he hasn’t. Russia is, I believe, fine with it, but I’m not sure that Zelenskyy’s fine with it,” Trump stated.

Trump’s remarks followed three days of U.S.-Ukraine talks in Florida, where negotiators attempted to narrow the remaining gaps over the American plan. Zelenskyy, who received updates by phone, said he had a “substantive call” with the American officials involved and pledged to continue pursuing “genuine peace.”

The talks came shortly after U.S. envoys Stephen Witkoff and Jared Kushner held a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. While Washington says the revised draft aims to restore stability, reports indicate that Moscow has rejected certain provisions, and some European leaders argue the plan grants excessive concessions to Russia.

Russia, meanwhile, welcomed the Trump administration’s newly released national security strategy, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying the document favored dialogue over confrontation and could support “constructive cooperation” on resolving the conflict.

U.S. officials say the remaining sticking points are the status of the Donbas region—most of which Moscow claims to have annexed—and the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

As negotiations wrapped up, Russia intensified missile, drone and shelling attacks across Ukraine. At least four civilians were killed over the weekend, including one man in a drone strike in the Chernihiv region and three people in shelling on Kharkiv, according to local authorities. A combined missile-drone attack on Kremenchuk also caused widespread power and water outages.

Zelenskyy is expected to meet on Monday in London with the leaders of the United Kingdom, France and Germany to discuss the political and security implications of the ongoing talks with Washington. (ILKHA)