As of November 4, 2026, Polymarket prices “Will Zelenskyy talk to Putin by December 31?” at 8% YES with $242K traded. No tracked wallet holds a position on this market, so there is no verdict.
Zelenskyy has ruled out direct talks while Putin maintains maximalist demands, making a meeting by December 31 highly unlikely.
Russian President Vladimir Putin used his New Year's Eve address on December 31, 2025 to declare confidence that Russia would win the war in Ukraine, hours after Moscow launched a mass drone strike on Ukrainian territory. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his own midnight message that Russia "remains the central barrier to peace," with Putin "unyielding in his maximalist demands," adding that he could not yet announce that peace was imminent. The exchange underscored how far apart the two leaders remained even as diplomatic activity intensified around them. [NBC News, Jan 01]
The diplomatic track moved briskly in the final days of December. Zelenskyy met President Donald Trump in Florida on December 28 to discuss a 20-point plan described as a possible foundation for ending the war, saying afterward that "Ukraine is ready for peace." Trump spoke by phone with Putin before and after the meeting, and Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov said the two presidents agreed to speak again "promptly." Trump told reporters the negotiating teams were "getting a lot closer" to a deal. Notably, the contacts ran Washington–Kyiv and Washington–Moscow; whether Zelenskyy would talk to Putin by December 31 remained unresolved as the year closed. [PBS News, Dec 28]
Zelenskyy has pressed for expanded U.S. military support as leverage, arguing that dominance of the skies would force Putin to the negotiating table, while insisting Ukraine will not accept peace "at any cost." Putin, for his part, has shown no sign of softening his terms, and the New Year's drone barrage suggested military pressure would continue alongside diplomacy. The structural obstacle remains the absence of any direct channel between the two presidents: all engagement has been mediated through Washington, and the question of whether Zelenskyy will talk to Putin by December 31 appears to have been settled by events rather than by agreement. [Al Jazeera, Dec 31]
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