Trump Officials Meet Ukrainian Delegation to Advance Peace Efforts Amid Ongoing Russian Attacks

Marco Rubio, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to meet with the Ukrainian delegation in Florida this weekend.

Senior Trump administration officials are convening with Ukrainian negotiators in Florida, working to facilitate an end to Russia's war in Ukraine and preparing for critical discussions scheduled with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow later this week.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, are anticipated to engage with the Ukrainian delegation to further develop the proposed peace framework. These discussions occur at a particularly challenging time for Ukraine as it continues to defend against Russian forces that invaded the country in 2022.

Just prior to the Florida meeting on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that his influential chief of staff, Andrii Yermak, who had previously led negotiations with the US, had resigned. This announcement followed anti-corruption investigators searching Yermak's residence. Zelenskyy's administration has been destabilized by revelations of a $100 million embezzlement scandal in the energy sector involving contractor kickbacks, creating new domestic challenges for the president.

Only one week earlier, Rubio had met with Yermak in Geneva, with both sides reporting positive progress on revising the peace plan.

The current Ukrainian delegation includes Andrii Hnatov, head of Ukraine's armed forces; Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine's foreign minister; and Rustem Umerov, who leads Ukraine's security council, according to Zelenskyy.

Diplomatic efforts have centered on revising Trump's proposed 28-point plan developed through Washington-Moscow negotiations. This plan faced criticism for favoring Russian demands, initially suggesting Ukraine surrender the entire eastern Donbas region to Russia—a major point of contention for Kyiv.

The plan—which Trump has since characterized as a "concept" or "map" requiring "fine-tuning"—would also restrict Ukraine's military size, prevent Ukraine from joining NATO, and require Ukrainian elections within 100 days. Negotiators have indicated the framework has evolved, though specific changes remain unclear.

Trump announced Tuesday that he would dispatch Witkoff and possibly Kushner to Moscow this week to discuss the plan with Putin. Both Witkoff and Kushner share Trump's real estate background, which prioritizes deal-making over traditional diplomatic approaches. The pair previously developed a 20-point proposal that achieved a ceasefire in Gaza.

On social media platform X, Zelenskyy wrote that the Ukrainian delegation would "swiftly and substantively work out the steps needed to end the war."

In his Saturday evening address, Zelenskyy noted that the American side was "demonstrating a constructive approach" and added, "In the coming days it is feasible to flesh out the steps to determine how to bring the war to a dignified end."

On Saturday, Russian drone and missile attacks around Kyiv killed at least three people and injured dozens more, officials reported. Additional overnight attacks into Sunday killed one person and wounded 19 others, including four children, when a drone struck a nine-story apartment building in Vyshhorod in the Kyiv region.

In a Sunday Telegram post, Zelenskyy reported that Russia had attacked Ukraine with 122 strike drones and ballistic missiles, stating, "Such attacks occur daily. This week alone, Russians have used nearly 1,400 strike drones, 1,100 guided aerial bombs and 66 missiles against our people. That is why we must strengthen Ukraine's resilience every day. Missiles and air defence systems are necessary, and we must also actively work with our partners for peace."

He emphasized, "We need real, reliable solutions that will help end the war."

After Ukraine claimed responsibility for damaging a major oil terminal near the Russian port of Novorossiysk, owned by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, Kazakhstan on Sunday demanded Ukraine cease attacks on the Black Sea terminal. The CPC pipeline, which runs from Kazakhstan to the Novorossisyk terminal, handles a significant portion of Kazakhstan's oil exports.

"We view what has occurred as an action harming the bilateral relations of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Ukraine, and we expect the Ukrainian side to take effective measures to prevent similar incidents in the future," Kazakhstan's Foreign Ministry stated.