Ukrainian negotiators are preparing to meet US officials in Florida to detail Washington’s proposed framework for ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, as Kiev faces pressure on the military and political fronts.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to sit down with a Ukrainian delegation on Sunday ahead of planned US talks with Vladimir Putin in Moscow this week.
At least six people were killed and dozens injured across Ukraine over the weekend. A drone strike on the outskirts of Kiev on Saturday night killed one person and injured 11, the regional governor said.
A Ukrainian security source said Kiev was responsible for attacks by naval drones on two oil tankers near Turkey’s Black Sea coast, believing they were transporting secretly sanctioned Russian oil.
More than three years after Russian forces launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, details of a draft framework to end the war are expected to be discussed.
The US has withdrawn the initial draft following criticism from Kiev and Europe that it was too favorable towards Russia, but the current content remains unclear. Witkoff, a New York property developer turned Trump official, is expected to visit Moscow next week.
The original 28-point US-Russian plan was drawn up last month by Putin’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev and Witkoff. It called on Ukraine to withdraw from cities under its control in the eastern Donbass region, limit the size of its military, and not join NATO. Washington’s original proposal – drafted without input from Ukraine’s European allies – would have included Kiev’s withdrawal from its eastern Donetsk region and US de facto recognition of Donetsk, Crimea and Luhansk as Russian.
The plan was substantially revised during talks led by Rubio and Ukrainian negotiators in Switzerland last weekend. Kiev and its European partners say the existing border line should be the starting point for regional discussions. He says there can be no recognition of lands militarily seized by Russia, and that Kiev must make its own decision about joining the EU and NATO – whether the Kremlin wants to veto it or impose conditions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he hoped the results of recent meetings with the US in Geneva would now be “finished”.
The US talks are taking place amid turmoil for the Ukrainian government. Zelensky’s powerful chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, was forced to resign on Friday after his flat was searched by anti-corruption officers investigating the bribery scheme.
Yermak had been the lead negotiator in the talks with the US. Zelensky said the Ukrainian delegation in Florida includes the head of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Andriy Hnatov, Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiha and Security Council head Rustam Umerov.
Ukraine faces significant pressure from Washington to agree to the terms of the deal, while Zelensky finds himself in increasing difficulty. Russia continues to advance on the front lines and Ukrainian cities suffer hours of blackouts every day due to bombing of their power grids.
Zelensky has said Ukraine is in one of the most difficult moments in its history, but in a dramatic address last week he promised his people he would not betray the country.
Valery Zaluzny, the Ukrainian ambassador to Britain and former commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, considered a potential challenger to the future presidency, wrote in the Telegraph: “We are in an extremely difficult situation, where a hasty peace will only lead to catastrophic defeat and loss of independence.”
He said that “effective security guarantees” are essential for any framework.
French President Emmanuel Macron will meet Zelensky in Paris on Monday. Jean-Noël Barrot, the French foreign minister, told La Tribune Dimanche, “If Vladimir Putin gives up his illusory hope of reconstituting the Soviet empire by first subjugating Ukraine, peace is within reach.” Barrot said: “Vladimir Putin must accept a ceasefire or impose new sanctions on Russia that would devastate its economy, as well as increase European support for Ukraine.”
Agence France-Presse, Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report
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