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Ukrainian negotiators are set to meet U.S. officials in Florida on Sunday to discuss Washington’s proposal for ending the war with Russia, as Kyiv faces mounting pressure on both military and political fronts.
The talks come amid renewed Russian drone and missile strikes on Ukraine and a corruption scandal that forced President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to sack his powerful chief of staff and top negotiator, Andriy Yermak, on Friday.
Russian forces targeted the capital and surrounding region for the second night in a row ahead of the U.S. talks. A drone strike on the outskirts of Kyiv killed one person and wounded 11, including a child, regional governor Mykola Kalashnyk said early Sunday.
"Another enemy drone attack," Kalashnyk wrote on Telegram. "As a result of the enemy attack on Vyshgorod, one person was killed and 11 were wounded."
The attack followed a barrage on Friday night that killed three people and left hundreds of thousands without power.
Russia claimed it was striking military-industrial energy infrastructure, while Ukraine described the attacks as an attempt to demoralize its civilian population.
“There was a piece of debris next to the bed, which hit the bed and got stuck,” said Galyna Bondarenko, a media worker in Kyiv, describing the blasts that shook her home.
Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, is now leading Kyiv’s delegation to the United States following Yermak’s dismissal.
“The Ukrainian delegation is on its way to the U.S.,” Umerov said on Telegram on Saturday, without specifying American counterparts. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff are expected to lead the talks, according to a U.S. official.
Yermak’s removal came after Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies raided his home as part of a sweeping probe into alleged misconduct in the energy sector. Zelenskyy later signed a decree to formalize Yermak’s departure.
The talks in Florida are expected to focus on a draft peace plan circulated by the U.S., which has been criticized by both Kyiv and European allies. The original 28-point proposal reportedly included U.S. de facto recognition of Russia’s control over Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk—and called for Ukraine to withdraw from eastern territory.
Following backlash, the Biden administration revised the proposal, but its latest contents remain undisclosed. The plan was developed without input from Ukraine’s European partners.
French President Emmanuel Macron is scheduled to host Zelenskyy for additional talks in Paris on Monday.
Just hours before the Ukrainian delegation departed, Russia’s Caspian Pipeline Consortium—which includes U.S. oil giants Chevron and ExxonMobil—halted operations at one of its largest oil terminals following a sea drone attack.
The terminal, which handles about 1% of global oil supply, sustained “significant damage,” the consortium said, calling the incident a “terrorist attack.” Ukraine has not officially commented, but Kyiv frequently targets Russian energy assets to deplete Moscow’s war resources.
Separately, Ukrainian security sources claimed responsibility for drone attacks on two empty tankers, the Virat and Kairos, off Türkiye’s Black Sea coast. The vessels, both under Gambia’s flag and under Western sanctions for transporting Russian oil, were hit late Friday and again early Saturday, according to Türkiye’s transport ministry.
“Modernized Sea Baby naval drones successfully targeted the vessels,” a source in Ukraine’s SBU intelligence agency told AFP, sharing a video purportedly showing the drones striking the tankers.
Despite the flare-up in attacks, the Kremlin said it remains committed to a diplomatic resolution and is open to negotiations. Moscow has not commented publicly on the U.S.-led peace proposal.
Ukraine’s government says any settlement must preserve its territorial integrity and sovereignty, while Washington has confirmed that it is working on a plan but declined to release specifics while talks continue.
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