Moscow, Kyiv meet for U.S.-brokered talks after fresh attacks

Moscow and Kyiv engage in U.S.-brokered talks amid ongoing conflict, seeking peace after renewed attacks and stalled negotiations.

Russian and Ukrainian negotiators launched fresh U.S.-brokered talks on Tuesday (February 17, 2026) in Geneva seeking to end the four-year war, hours after both sides launched a fresh wave of long-range strikes.

U.S. President Donald Trump is seeking to position himself as a peacemaker of the conflict unleashed when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, but previous rounds of talks mediated by the White House have yielded no breakthroughs.

Moscow's troops have been grinding through eastern and southern Ukraine for months at immense human cost, betting they can outgun and outlast Kyiv's stretched army while vowing to fight on if Ukraine does not cave at the negotiating table.

Kyiv is pushing for robust Western-backed security guarantees to ensure Russia does not re-invade, while AFP analysis found its forces had made limited, but rapid, progress in a key section of the front in recent days.

"Security and humanitarian issues are on the agenda," lead Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov wrote on social media, announcing the meeting had begun. A source in the Russian delegation confirmed to reporters — including AFP — that the talks started.

Mr. Umerov further cooled already low expectations, saying that the delegation was approaching the discussions "without excessive expectations."