US, Ukraine hail ‘productive’ Miami talks, but no breakthrough

US and Ukrainian envoys on Sunday issued a joint statement describing talks in Miami as “productive and constructive,” though no breakthrough was announced in efforts to end the war with Russia.

Senior representatives from Ukraine and Russia, along with Kyiv’s European allies, have been in southern Florida for several days for separate discussions hosted by US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The meetings are part of a weeks-long diplomatic push aimed at halting the conflict, after Washington last month circulated a 28-point proposal widely seen as reflecting Kremlin demands.

That proposal has since been redrafted following consultations with Ukraine and European partners, though its contents have not been made public.

“Over the last three days in Florida, the Ukrainian delegation held a series of productive and constructive meetings with American and European partners,” Witkoff and Ukraine’s chief negotiator, Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, said in separate statements posted on X.

They said a bilateral US-Ukraine meeting focused on aligning positions on four key documents: a “20-point plan,” a “multilateral security guarantee framework,” a “US security guarantee framework for Ukraine,” and an “economic and prosperity plan.” Particular attention was paid to timelines and the sequencing of next steps, though no future meetings were announced.

National security advisers from European allies also joined discussions to coordinate a shared strategic approach between Ukraine, the United States and Europe, the statements said.

Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev was also in southern Florida and met separately with the US delegation, which included Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Witkoff similarly described those talks as “productive and constructive.”

Earlier, the Kremlin said recent proposed changes to the peace plan were unacceptable. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state television that Dmitriev would relay details of the American and European proposals back to Moscow. Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022, has long argued that Europe’s involvement undermines peace efforts, branding it as pro-war.

War rages on

Details of the latest peace proposals remain unclear, but Kyiv is widely expected to be under pressure to concede territory — an idea deeply unpopular among many Ukrainians — in exchange for US security guarantees.

Although envoys from both Moscow and Kyiv were present in Florida, the Kremlin has ruled out trilateral talks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier described the negotiations as “constructive” and said they were “moving at a fairly rapid pace,” while cautioning that progress ultimately depends on whether Russia genuinely seeks to end the war.

Zelensky also called the week “historic” for Ukraine, thanking European partners for pledging $100 billion in funding over the next two years.

Meanwhile, fighting on the ground has intensified. Russian forces have made steady advances along the eastern front in recent months, and President Vladimir Putin on Friday praised territorial gains while threatening further advances in the coming weeks.

Over the past week alone, Russia launched about 1,300 attack drones, nearly 1,200 guided aerial bombs and nine missiles of various types against Ukraine, Zelensky said. Many strikes targeted the Black Sea region of Odesa, damaging ports, bridges and energy infrastructure and killing eight people on Saturday.

In the eastern Sumy region, Russian troops attempted a breakthrough in an area previously spared from heavy ground fighting. Ukrainian authorities said Russian forces forcibly removed around 50 civilians from a local village.

“Russian invaders have stolen five dozen civilian people, mostly elderly women, from the tiny Ukrainian village of Grabovske, right across the state border in the Sumy region,” Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said. Russia has not commented on the allegation.