US and Ukrainian officials held four hours of high-stakes negotiations in Florida on Sunday to shape a potential endgame to the war with Russia, just days before a Trump envoy is set to meet President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. The talks came at a tense moment, as Ukraine continues fighting Russian forces while facing a major domestic corruption scandal that triggered the resignation of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s former chief of staff, Andrii Yermak.
The American delegation — Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner — worked with Ukraine’s representatives to revise a US-drafted peace framework that Kyiv has criticised for accommodating too many Russian demands. Rubio emphasised that any agreement must secure long-term Ukrainian sovereignty, not merely silence the guns, and highlighted economic reconstruction, deterrence against future invasion and deep commercial cooperation with the US as core elements of Washington’s plan.
Ukraine’s national security chief, Rustem Umerov, expressed gratitude for continued American support but offered no specifics on progress made. Trump’s peace concept — now being “fine-tuned” — originally envisioned limits on Ukraine’s military, a 100-day election timeline and a ban on NATO membership, with early drafts requiring Kyiv to cede the Donbas region to Russia. It is not clear how much these provisions have changed.
Despite diplomatic efforts, the war raged over the weekend. Russian strikes on Kyiv killed at least three people, and fresh attacks overnight left one dead and 19 wounded, including children. President Zelenskyy called for stronger air defences and “reliable solutions” to end the conflict, while Kazakhstan publicly warned Ukraine after Kyiv claimed responsibility for damaging an energy terminal tied to Kazakh oil exports at the Russian port of Novorossiysk.
Witkoff — and possibly Kushner — are expected in Moscow within days for talks with Putin. The Kremlin has confirmed the meeting will take place before Thursday, when Putin departs for India.
