Top Trump administration officials are meeting Ukrainian negotiators in Florida today, pushing to broker an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine and setting the stage for key talks planned this week in Moscow with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Ukrainian officials are set to meet senior US representatives in Florida today to discuss Washington’s plan to end the war with Russia as they work through the details of America’s proposed framework to bring Russia’s war on Ukraine to an end, with Kyiv under mounting political and battlefield strain.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to meet the Ukrainian delegation on Sunday. Their talks will precede planned negotiations in Moscow later in the week between US officials and Vladimir Putin.
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Diplomatic efforts have centred on revising Trump’s earlier 28-point proposal, drawn up during preliminary US-Russia contacts. The original version drew criticism for heavily reflecting Moscow’s demands, including a provision that Ukraine surrender the entire Donbas region, an outcome Kyiv has firmly rejected.
These discussions coincide with a period of internal turmoil for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s administration. A major corruption investigation prompted him on Friday to dismiss his chief of staff and chief negotiator, Andriy Yermak.
Trump has since described the proposal as merely a “concept” or “map” requiring adjustment. The earlier draft also called for capping Ukraine’s military strength, barring NATO membership, and obliging the country to hold national elections within 100 days. Negotiators say revisions have been made, though the exact changes remain unclear.
Trump said on Tuesday that he would send Witkoff and perhaps Kushner to Moscow this week to meet with Putin about the plan. Both Witkoff and Kushner, like Trump, hail from the world of real estate that values dealmaking over the conventions of diplomacy. The pair also were behind a 20-point proposal that led to a ceasefire in Gaza.
Zelenskyy wrote on X that the Ukrainian delegation would “swiftly and substantively work out the steps needed to end the war.”
In his nightly address on Saturday, Zelenskyy said the American side was “demonstrating a constructive approach.”
“In the coming days it is feasible to flesh out the steps to determine how to bring the war to a dignified end,” he said.
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As Russia advances on the front line, its forces targeted Ukraine’s capital and the region for two nights in a row ahead of the ta