Newsletters
Ukrainian and U.S. officials are scheduled to hold a third consecutive day of talks in Miami on Saturday, with Washington saying both sides agreed that “real progress” toward peace depends on Russia’s willingness to end the war.
President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner have been meeting with top Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov and Andrii Hnatov, chief of staff of Ukraine’s armed forces.
The discussions follow Witkoff and Kushner’s visit to Moscow on Tuesday, where they presented a U.S. peace proposal to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Moscow reportedly rejected parts of the plan but expressed interest in continued dialogue.
“Both parties agreed that real progress toward any agreement depends on Russia’s readiness to show serious commitment to long-term peace, including steps toward de-escalation and cessation of killings,” Witkoff said in a statement posted Friday on X.
He added that the U.S. and Ukrainian delegations also agreed on a framework for security arrangements and discussed “necessary deterrence capabilities to sustain a lasting peace.”
The U.S. plan envisions Ukraine relinquishing certain territories that Russia has failed to capture militarily in exchange for Western security guarantees that stop short of NATO membership. Details of those guarantees remain unclear, though an earlier draft suggested that fighter jets to defend Kyiv could be based in Poland.
The proposal has gone through multiple revisions since it first surfaced late last month amid criticism that it was too accommodating to Moscow.
Witkoff, Trump’s former business partner turned envoy, and Kushner, now serving as Trump’s senior adviser, hoped to secure Putin’s cooperation during the Moscow meeting but left without a final agreement.
Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said after the five-hour meeting that Moscow expects Washington to share the results of the ongoing U.S.-Ukraine talks in Florida. He described the discussions with Kushner and Witkoff as “cordial” and “genuinely friendly.”
“President Putin and (Mr). Witkoff had a genuinely friendly conversation, and they understand each other perfectly,” Ushakov said on Russian state television Friday. “A new person has joined us, and I would say that he has turned out to be very useful,” he added, referring to Kushner.
1 min read
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, wrote Friday on social media that “the diplomatic process takes place mostly behind the scenes.”
“Ukraine seeks to end the war and is ready for talks,” Podolyak said. “The United States wants a pragmatic process and a quick end to the war, expecting compromises from both sides.”
Trump said Wednesday that his envoys had a “reasonably good meeting” with Putin, adding that they left with the “strong impression” the Russian leader “would like to end the war.”
Trump has taken a shifting stance on Ukraine since returning to office in January — initially praising Putin and criticizing Zelenskyy, but later growing frustrated over stalled progress. He recently imposed sanctions on Russian oil firms after a failed Alaska summit aimed at ending the conflict.
Putin, who visited India this week to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, described the peace talks as “complex” but said he preferred to “engage with Trump’s plan rather than obstruct it.”
As diplomacy continued, Moscow intensified attacks on Ukraine. Russian forces launched large-scale drone and missile strikes on the Kyiv region early Saturday, wounding at least three people, regional governor Mykola Kalashnyk said on Telegram.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said it intercepted and destroyed 116 Ukrainian drones overnight, while Ukrainian officials reported continued heavy bombardment across the front lines as Russian troops pressed their advance against outgunned Ukrainian forces.
3 min read
