PALM BEACH, Florida — US President Donald J. Trump said on Sunday that he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky were “getting a lot closer, maybe very close” to an agreement to end the war in Ukraine, while acknowledging that the fate of the Donbas region remains a key unresolved issue.

The two leaders spoke at a joint news conference after meeting at Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Sunday afternoon. Both leaders reported progress on two of the most contentious issues in peace talks — security guarantees for Ukraine and the division of eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region that Russia has sought to capture.

Both Mr. Trump and Mr. Zelensky offered few details and did not provide a deadline for completing a peace deal, although Mr. Trump said it will be clear “in a few weeks” whether negotiations to end the war will succeed. He said a few “thorny issues” around territory must be resolved.

Mr. Zelensky said an agreement on security guarantees for Ukraine has been reached. Mr. Trump was slightly more cautious, saying that they were 95% of the way to such an agreement, and that he expected European countries to “take over a big part” of that effort with US backing.

French President Emmanuel Macron, in an X post published after Mr. Trump met with Mr. Zelensky, said progress was made on security guarantees. Mr. Macron said countries in the so-called “Coalition of the Willing” would meet in Paris in early January to finalize their “concrete contributions.”

Mr. Zelensky has said previously that he hopes to soften a US proposal for Ukrainian forces to withdraw completely from Donbas, a Russian demand that would mean ceding some territory held by Ukrainian forces. While Moscow insists on getting all of Donbas, Kyiv wants the map frozen at current battle lines.

Both Mr. Trump and Mr. Zelensky said on Sunday the future of the Donbas had not been settled, though the US president said discussions are “moving in the right direction.” The United States, seeking a compromise, has proposed a free economic zone if Ukraine leaves the area, although it remains unclear how that zone would function in practical terms.

“It’s unresolved, but it’s getting a lot closer. That’s a very tough issue,” Mr. Trump said.

Nor did the leaders offer much insight into what agreements they had reached on providing security for Ukraine after the war ends, something Mr. Zelensky described the meeting as “the key milestone in achieving a lasting peace.”

Russia has said any foreign troop deployment in Ukraine is unacceptable.

Mr. Zelensky said any peace agreement would have to be approved by Ukraine’s parliament, or by a referendum. Mr. Trump said he would be willing to speak to parliament if that would secure the deal.

TRUMP AND PUTIN SPEAK BEFORE ZELENSKY MEETING
Shortly before Mr. Zelensky and his delegation arrived at Mr. Trump’s Florida residence, Mr. Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke in a call described as “productive” by the US president and “friendly” by Kremlin Foreign Policy Aide Yuri Ushakov.

Mr. Ushakov, in Moscow, said Mr. Putin told Mr. Trump a 60-day ceasefire proposed by the European Union and Ukraine would prolong the war. The Kremlin aide also said Ukraine needs to make a decision regarding the Donbas “without further delay.”

Mr. Trump said he and Mr. Putin spoke for more than two hours. He said the Russian president pledged to help rebuild Ukraine, including by supplying cheap energy. “Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed,” Mr. Trump said. “It sounds a little strange.”

As Mr. Trump praised Mr. Putin, Mr. Zelensky tilted his head and smiled.

Mr. Trump said he would call Mr. Putin again following the meeting with Mr. Zelensky.

The Kremlin expressed support for Mr. Trump’s negotiations.

“The whole world appreciates President Trump and his team’s peace efforts,” Kirill Dmitriev, Mr. Putin’s special envoy, posted on X early on Monday after Mr. Trump’s talks with Mr. Zelensky.

NUCLEAR PLANT DISCUSSED
US negotiators have also proposed shared control over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. Power line repairs have begun there after another local ceasefire brokered by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the agency said on Sunday.

Negotiators, Mr. Trump said, have made progress on deciding the fate of the plant, which can “start up almost immediately.” The US president said “it’s a big step” that Russia had not bombed the facility.

Russia controls all of Crimea, which it annexed in 2014, and since its invasion of Ukraine nearly four years ago has taken control of about 12% of its territory, including about 90% of the Donbas, 75% of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, and slivers of the Kharkiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions, according to Russian estimates.

The day before Mr. Zelensky arrived in Florida to meet with Mr. Trump, Russian forces attacked Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine with hundreds of missiles and drones, knocking out power and heat in parts of the Ukrainian capital. Mr. Zelensky has described the weekend attacks as Russia’s response to the US-brokered peace efforts, but Mr. Trump on Sunday said he believes Mr. Putin and Mr. Zelensky are serious about peace.

After Saturday’s air attacks, Mr. Putin said Moscow would continue waging its war if Kyiv did not seek a quick peace. Russia has steadily advanced on the battlefield in recent months, claiming control over several more settlements on Sunday.

European heads of state joined at least part of Sunday’s meeting by phone. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on X that “Europe is ready to keep working with Ukraine and our US partners,” and added that having ironclad security guarantees will be of “paramount” importance.

A spokesman for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said European leaders “underlined the importance of robust security guarantees and reaffirmed the urgency of ending this barbaric war as soon as possible.” — Reuters

BEIJING/TAIPEI — China staged live-fire drills around Taiwan on Monday, deploying troops, warships, fighter jets and artillery for its “Justice Mission 2025” exercises, as the island scrambled soldiers and showcased US-made hardware to rehearse repelling an attack.

The Eastern Theatre Command said it had concentrated forces to the north and southwest of the Taiwan Strait and carried out live firing and simulated strikes on land and maritime targets. The drills would continue on Tuesday and include exercises to blockade the island’s main ports and encircle it.

A senior Taiwan security official told Reuters dozens of Chinese military boats and aircraft were operating around the island, some of which were “deliberately closing in” on Taiwan’s contiguous zone, defined as 24 nautical miles from its coast.

This marks China’s sixth major round of war games since 2022 after then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the democratically governed island, and follows a rise in Chinese rhetoric over Beijing’s territorial claims after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo.

The exercises began 11 days after the US announced $11.1 billion in arms sales to Taiwan, the largest ever weapons package for the island, drawing a protest from China’s defense ministry and warnings the military would “take forceful measures” in response.

Analysts say Beijing’s drills increasingly blur the line between routine military training exercises and what could be stage-setting for an attack, a strategy intended to give the US and its allies minimal warning of an assault.

“This (the drills) serves as a serious warning to ‘Taiwan Independence’ separatist forces and external interference forces,” said Shi Yi, a spokesperson for the Eastern Theatre Command.

Taiwan’s government condemned the drills, while its defense ministry posted a video on Facebook showcasing various weapons, including US-made HIMARS rocket systems, a highly mobile artillery system with a range of about 300 kilometers (186 miles) that could hit coastal targets in China’s southern province of Fujian, on the other side of the Taiwan Strait, in the event of a conflict.

Taiwan’s coast guard added that it had dispatched large ships in reaction to Chinese coast guard activity near its waters and that it was working with the island’s military to minimize the drills’ impact on maritime routes and fishing areas.

The island’s aviation authority said China had designated a “temporary danger zone” in Taipei’s airspace for 10-hours of live-fire drills scheduled for Tuesday and that it was working to identify alternative flight routes.

RAPID RESPONSE
Taiwan’s defense ministry said two Chinese military aircraft and 11 ships had been operating around the island over the past 24 hours, and that Taiwan’s military was on high alert and poised to carry out “rapid response exercises.”

That particular drill is designed to move troops swiftly in case China suddenly turns one of its drills around the island into an attack.

“All members of our armed forces will remain highly vigilant and fully on guard, taking concrete action to defend the values of democracy and freedom,” the defense ministry said.

Taiwan stock markets were unaffected by the drills, up 0.8% to a record high in morning trading.

“I think these drills are just meant to scare us,” said Lin Wei-ming, a 31-year-old teacher based in the capital, Taipei. “Similar drills have happened before … the political side of things can only be handled by Taiwan’s current government and how they choose to respond.”

Taiwan rejects China’s claimed sovereignty, maintaining that only its people can decide the island’s future.

‘SMASH THE SEPARATIST SCOUNDRELS’
The Chinese military released two posters titled “Shields of Justice: Smashing Illusions,” and “Arrows of Justice: Control and Denial”, along with a third graphic depicting four locations across the island with targets locking on, following the drill announcement.

China’s state broadcaster said the exercises would focus on sealing off Taiwan’s vital deep-water Port of Keelung to the island’s north and Kaohsiung to Taiwan’s south, the island’s largest port city.

While the PLA practiced port blockades around Taiwan during war games last year, this marks the first time it has publicly stated that drills around the island are aimed at “deterrence” of outside military intervention.

The Japanese prime minister’s remarks triggered a surge in Chinese messaging stressing its sovereignty claims. Chinese leader Xi Jinping told US President Donald Trump in November that Taiwan’s “return to China” after World War Two was central to Beijing’s vision of the global order.

The first poster appeared to show the armada of civilian ships China is mobilizing to help in an attack on Taiwan, vessels with ramps and open decks that could be used to carry out an amphibious assault.

“Any foreign interference that touches the shield (of justice) shall perish!” the poster read. “Any separatist scoundrels who encounter the shield shall be destroyed!”

“I think their (China’s) goal is, as they said, ‘keep the island, not the people,’” said Stephanie Huang, a 56-year-old interior designer. “They just want to save face by claiming Taiwan as part of their own country, but Taiwanese people don’t see it that way.”

“We are who we are; they are who they are.” — Reuters

SEOUL — The wife of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol interfered in state affairs in return for expensive valuables and money, a special prosecutor said on Monday.

The special prosecutor’s investigations, which wrapped up on Sunday, came amid a year-long probe into Mr. Yoon’s brief imposition of martial law last year and related scandals linked to the once-powerful couple.

The prosecution team earlier this month sought a 15-year prison sentence for former First Lady Kim Keon Hee, who is under detention and currently on trial for suspected acceptance of bribes for mediation and other charges.

Ms. Kim has denied any wrongdoing. She apologized to the public for causing concerns during a court hearing earlier this month.

Ms. Kim “took advantage of the status of the president’s spouse to receive money and expensive valuables, and has been widely involved in various personnel appointments and nominations,” special prosecutor Min Joong-ki said at a news conference marking the end of his investigation.

A lower court ruling on Ms. Kim is expected on January 28.

“Investigations do not end because one says so, but are eventually completed with evidence in court,” Ms. Kim’s lawyers said in a statement on Monday, adding they will work “to ensure that procedural legitimacy and defense rights are thoroughly guaranteed so that facts are not exaggerated or distorted into political framing.”

The prosecution team has also indicted Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja, now on trial, after the religious group was suspected of giving Ms. Kim valuables including two Chanel bags and a diamond necklace as part of its efforts to win influence.

Ms. Han has denied that she directed her church to bribe Ms. Kim.

“Various people who did not have a common denominator with each other visited Kim Keon Hee, not the president, and asked for what they wanted, and gave money and goods,” said assistant special prosecutor Kim Hyeong-geun.

“As a result, their request was realized.”

Ousted President Yoon is on trial for suspected masterminding of an insurrection, a charge that could mean a life sentence or even a death penalty. He has denied the charges.

A lower court ruling on Mr. Yoon is expected early 2026. — Reuters