Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump have both described their meeting in Florida as "great" and "terrific"
Zelensky says the 20-point peace plan is 90% agreed, while Trump says a security guarantee for Ukraine is "close to 95%" done
But the US president also says "one or two very thorny issues" remain - with land still being the most difficult one
An agreement on a free-trade zone in Donbas is also "unresolved", Trump says
On Russia, Trump says Vladimir Putin has not agreed to a ceasefire to allow any referendums to take place - something Ukraine says is essential for resolving territorial issues
Notably, both Trump and Zelensky did not offer any timelines, instead vowing to have their teams meet again in the coming weeks, writes our reporter Bernd Debusmann Jr
Trump: Agreement on Donbas 'unresolved' but 'getting closer'
Kicking off that news conference we've been waiting for, US President Donald Trump says it was a "terrific meeting".
"We discussed a lot of points. I do think we're getting a lot closer, maybe very close" he says.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has just posted on Telegram, confirming he’ll make a live statement with US President Donald Trump shortly.
He’s also shared a link to a live feed on his YouTube channel.
Image source, US PoolUS President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are having a call with European leaders, after finishing their face-to-face talks - that's according to both Russian state news agency Tass and the Italian foreign minister.
It's not yet been confirmed if Zelensky and Trump will hold a news conference about what they've discussed, but two podiums have been set up with the US and Ukrainian flags behind them.
If the two do speak to the media, we'll bring you all the key lines here.
Paul Kirby
Europe digital editor
Image source, Ukrinform/NurPhotoRustem Umerov (L) and Chief of the Defence Staff Andrii Hnatov have in recent weeks been Zelensky's top envoys in the talks with the US (file photo)
Zelensky has a strong team with him - to match Trump's high-powered negotiators who include those most invested in the Ukraine talks - Trump envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The main figures on Zelensky's team are his National Security and Defence Council Secretary Rustem Umerov, and Andrii Hnatov, the chief of Ukraine's general staff. They were key to last weekend's talks in Miami with Witkoff and Kushner that paved the way to the final stages that Trump believes we have now reached.
Three other members of Zelensky's government team are also there - Deputy Foreign Minister Serhiy Kyslytsya, Economy Minister Oleksiy Sobolyev and Presidential Office Adviser Oleksandr Bevz.
It's a very different team from the one that joined Zelensky at the White House two months ago - although Defence Council Chief Umerov played a key role then as well.
But it's a bigger, broader group and appears to show the finer details of today's talks are now more focused than before.
Volodymyr Harylov, a former deputy minister of defence in Ukraine, says there aren't any expectations that today's talks will bring results in Ukraine.
"We are very realistic about the position of Russia in this conflict," he tells the BBC News channel.
Putin "wants Ukraine to surrender", he says. "Any compromise is perceived by him as a personal political defeat."
He says that while any decisions on the issue of territory have to be made with a referendum, "any kind of referendum requires a ceasefire".
And he thinks this is an obstacle, because "Russia is not ready for a ceasefire".
Steve Rosenberg
Russia editor
Judging by the Kremlin readout of the telephone call between President Putin and President Trump (delivered by President Putin’s foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov), there’s little sign of a shift in Moscow’s position.
Ushakov called on Kyiv to take a “brave, responsible political decision…regarding the Donbas region it would make sense for the Ukrainian regime to do this without delay.”
He didn’t spell it out. But that suggests Moscow continues to insist that Ukraine cede territory in the Donbas still under Ukrainian control: land Russia has been unable to seize in nearly four years of war.
Image source, AFP via GettyUkrainian rescuers search rubble inside a damaged residential building after Russian drones and missiles attack
Ushakov gave the impression that, on key issues, the Kremlin and the White House are largely on the same page.
"The main thing is that, overall, the presidents of Russia and the US take the similar view that the suggestion of a temporary ceasefire proposed by the Ukrainians and the Europeans under the guise of preparations for a referendum or under any other pretexts only leads to a prolonging of the conflict and risks a resumption of hostilities,” he said.
The US and Russia have agreed to set up two working groups on Ukraine, covering security and economic issues. According to Ushakov, Presidents Putin and Trump will speak again by phone after President Trump’s talks with President Zelensky.
Abdujalil Abdurasulov
Ukraine reporter
Most Ukrainians remain sceptical about the current negotiations and don’t expect they’ll bring peace any time soon.
Kyiv International Institute of Sociology carried out a survey this month to analyse the mood in Ukrainian society. Only 14% of respondents said they believed the war would end in the first half of 2026.
And 75% of respondents were against a peace plan that would reflect Russia’s main demands.
Many in Ukraine believe Russia would reject any peace deal that’s favourable or even acceptable for Ukraine. Kyiv believes Russia is preparing for a lengthy war and has no intention of ending it until its demands are met.
Kyrylo Budanov, head of HUR - Ukraine’s military intelligence agency - says more than 400,000 people signed a military contract to join the Russian army in 2025, and next year Moscow is planning to recruit even more.
Budanov says Moscow’s aim in 2026 is to seize the entire Donetsk region in the east and Zaporizhzhia region in the south.
Image source, ReutersMembers of the press were briefly allowed into the Mar-a-Lago dining room - where the meeting is taking place between President Trump and President Zelensky.
They were then abruptly asked to leave, but not before the US president offered lunch to one reporter.
"Take him outside and tell the chef to serve him a little lunch."
DW News's US correspondent Misha Komadovsky tweeted that while cameras were off the menu, the actual menu food featured pigs in a blanket, steak, fries, coconut shrimp, cookies and water.
Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring
President Trump's phone call with Vladimir Putin, held immediately before meeting Volodymyr Zelensky, brings back memories of the Ukrainian president's previous visit to the US in October.
Back then, the US and Russian presidents spoke a day before Zelensky met with Trump, and that conversation reportedly derailed an agreement to supply Ukraine with Tomahawk cruise missiles.
Worryingly for the Ukrainian leader, Moscow just said Putin's phone call with Trump was "friendly and good-natured".
Abdujalil Abdurasulov
Ukraine reporter
Image source, Anadolu via Getty ImagesWhile President Zelensky is meeting Donald Trump to discuss a peace deal, the situation on the front line remains difficult.
Russia says it has seized Myrnohrad, which, along with neighbouring Pokrovsk, serves as a key logistical hub in eastern Ukraine.
Russia's chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov says their troops have also captured the town of Hulaypole in the southern Zaporizhzhya region.
The Ukrainian military denies these reports, saying that although heavy battles are taking place in both towns, Russian forces are not in control.
Fighting has intensified along various parts of the front line in both the east and south recently.
The timing, coinciding with key diplomatic meetings, is probably not accidental.
If Ukraine’s defence forces are struggling to stop Russian offensives, it will be much harder for Zelensky and his team to convince Donald Trump to include Ukraine’s key demands in the peace deal.
Russia knows that - and by stepping up attacks on the front line, Moscow wants to weaken Ukraine’s negotiating position.
Paul Kirby
Europe digital editor
Trump believes they have the "makings of a deal" and Zelensky has repeated his belief that they are 90% of the way there.
So if they really are in those final stages, then the questions go back to the big sticking points - territorial decisions, security guarantees and economic issues.
Zelensky has offered a compromise on Russia's demand for Ukraine to hand over about a quarter of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, which Putin's forces have been unable to conquer. Russia is unlikely to accept Zelensky's offer to pull his troops back up to 40km (25 miles) if Russia does the same - to create a demilitarised or economic zone.
That's potentially the trickiest detail, as Russia will object to pulling back its troops. And Zelensky will need a referendum to approve any deal - to hold a vote he will require a ceasefire, which Putin has so far refused to allow.
We also know the US wants to create two working groups, one on economic issues, the other on security guarantees.
One big economic issue is Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant - the biggest in Europe and currently under Russian occupation: will Russia allow the US and Ukraine to share the running of it?
On security, Kyiv needs the US and Europe to provide a Nato Article-5 type guarantee of help if Ukraine comes under Russian attack. The Kremlin has been adamant it won't allow European troops near the front lines.
Image source, Getty ImagesHere's a quick recap of what's happened so far.
After Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky greeted each other outside Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence ahead of the talks, both leaders answered reporters' questions.
Trump said the "makings of a deal" are in place, and that both Russia and Ukraine are very serious about establishing lasting peace.
Zelensky said today's meeting is all about how to move the 20-point plan forward, adding that the possibility of territorial concessions will be discussed today.
Now, the pair have gone in to a meeting inside Mar-a-Lago. After the meeting, they're expected to have a call with European leaders.
Trump has also said he'll be calling Putin to continue negotiations.
Stay with us as we continue to bring you more analysis and updates.
Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Washington DC
Reporters were briefly allowed into the room where the Mar-a-Lago bilateral is taking place.
Inside, Zelensky and members of his delegation were sitting opposite Trump and the US delegation, which includes Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Dan Caine, Jared Kushner, Steve Witkoff and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.
Any opportunity for further questions was quickly dashed when Trump abruptly instructed communicators adviser Margo Martin to escort the journalists out to lunch, courtesy of Mar-a-Lago's chef.
It is, for now, unclear if we will hear from Trump or Zelensky again after the meeting, although Trump said he believed they would speak again once it - and the call with European leaders - has concluded.
Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Washington DC
We've just ended a brief question-and-answer session at Mar-a-Lago - in which President Trump sounded optimistic, though it was short on details.
Many of Trump's remarks have become standard fare in his public comments on Ukraine.
Trump added that he believes ending the Ukraine-Russia war is "complicated", but "not that complicated", and sounded optimistic that both Kyiv and Moscow want to end the fighting.
The US president, however, did not offer any timeline or specifics on security guarantees or what territorial concessions he believes might be necessary.
Previously, Trump's statements on what a future map of Ukraine might look like have shifted.
Just a few months ago at the UN General Assembly, for example, he stunned many observers by saying he believed that Russia to be a "paper tiger" and that Ukraine could get all its lost land back.
It's unclear, based on his comments just now, where he stands on this key issue - but he and other White House officials do seem confident the negotiations are 90% complete.
Image source, US PoolWe have more details on Trump's comments just a moment ago about Putin's intentions.
A reporter asked Trump if the recent Russian attacks on Kyiv showed that Putin wasn't serious about peace.
"No he's very serious," Trump replied.
"I believe Ukraine has made some very strong attacks also - and I don't say that negatively," he said. "You probably have to."
Trump added: "The people of Ukraine want it to end, and the people of Russia want it to end, the two leaders want it to end."
Zelensky thanks Trump for hosting him and says he hopes the talks will "bring peace as quick as possible".
Asked why he wanted to come to Florida to meet Trump, Zelensky says their teams have worked on a 20-point plan and today's meeting is about discussions on strategies to move the plan forward.
He is asked if he believes there will be territorial concessions, and he is noncommittal, saying the matter will be discussed today.
Trump says he thinks they're in the final stages of talks.
"We have the makings of a deal," he tells reporters.
He adds that he'll be calling Putin after today's meeting with Zelensky to continue the negotiations.
European nations have been very supportive and involved in making a deal, Trump says.
Trump adds that while there's a lot of rebuilding to do in Ukraine, there would also be a great economic benefit for the war-torn country.
When asked what he expects out of today's talks, Trump says "we can move very rapidly".
"Ukraine appreciates it, and Russia appreciates it. They both want to see it end."
He adds: "Otherwise, it's going to go on for a long time.
"And millions of additional people are going to be killed. Millions."
Trump: We have the makings of a deal
Image source, Getty ImagesYuri Ushakov, left, and Putin in Saint Petersburg earlier in December
We're hearing more about the Trump-Putin call earlier today, but this time from Moscow's perspective.
Russian foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov says the call was initiated by Trump and that he and Putin discussed the latest EU and Ukraine proposals to end the nearly four-year war.
Ushakov, Russia's former US ambassador, says Trump listened to the Kremlin's assessment of the proposals and the two presidents left the call united in their belief that a temporary ceasefire proposed by the EU and Ukraine would instead prolong the conflict.
He says the two leaders will speak again after the Trump-Zelensky meeting in Florida ends.
Trump posted earlier on Truth Social that he had had a "good and very productive telephone call" with Putin.
Welcoming Zelensky to Mar-a-Lago just a moment ago, Trump said the Russian president was serious about peace.
Speaking to reporters outside Mar-a-Lago, President Trump says he thinks Putin is serious about making peace with Ukraine.
Zelensky is now arriving at Mar-a-Lago where he is meeting Trump and other senior US officials at the main dining room of the president's private residence.
The media has been invited, so stay with us as we bring you the latest on this crunch meeting.
Zelensky shakes hands with Trump as he arrives at Mar-a-Lago