US Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged progress after a four-hour negotiation session with Ukrainian officials on Sunday in Florida, focused on outlining the conditions for ending the conflict with Russia.
“We had another very productive session, but there is still work to be done,” Rubio told reporters after the meeting. The dialogue, held in Hallandale Beach, focused on reviewing a 28-point baseline proposal and offering guarantees of security and prosperity to Ukraine following a potential ceasefire.
Ukrainian chief negotiator Rustem Umerov emphasized to Rubio the importance of US support and thanked Washington for its concrete backing.
“The United States is listening to us, supporting us, and working alongside us,” Umerov said. Other members of the Ukrainian team included the head of the Armed Forces, Andrii Hnatov, and presidential advisor Oleksandr Bevz.
This round comes after the resignation of Andrii Yermak, former chief negotiator and top advisor to Volodymyr Zelensky, who stepped down after his home was searched in the investigation into embezzlement in the energy sector.
Rubio emphasized that the discussions are not only aimed at stopping the violence, but also at ensuring that Ukraine emerges from the conflict with independence and the capacity for sustained development.
“It is not just about ending the war, but about creating conditions that allow Ukraine to be sovereign, secure and truly prosperous,” he stressed.
The plan initially discussed envisaged kyiv ceding full control of eastern Donbas to Russia, as well as limits on the size of the Ukrainian armed forces and the exclusion of Ukraine from NATO.
Rubio insisted that the negotiators were reviewing these contentious points and seeking a balance between Russian demands and the security and reconstruction guarantees demanded by Ukraine.
In addition to Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and advisor Jared Kushner, the US delegation is preparing for key meetings taking place this week in Moscow.
Rubio indicated that they intended to work in the coming days to solidify the details with the delegation of Vladimir Putin, who will receive Witkoff and possibly Kushner before departing for India on Thursday.
In that context, President Zelensky spoke out on his social media, highlighting the"positive disposition" of the US delegation and the "constructive" approach demonstrated in the last rounds.
“In the coming days, it is possible to finalize the steps to reach a dignified end to the conflict,” Zelensky said in his Saturday night address.
Umerov also noted that the focus remains on the resilience and future of Ukraine, beyond the cessation of hostilities.
However, the violence continues on the battlefield. During the early hours of Sunday, Russian drone and missile attacks killed at least three people in Kyiv, while a drone struck a residential building in Vyshhorod, north of the capital, leaving one dead and nearly 20 wounded.
This same weekend, Ukraine claimed a successful attack on a Russian oil terminal in Novorossiysk, prompting a diplomatic warning from Kazakhstan demanding a halt to future attacks on strategic facilities.
Zelensky stressed in his daily message that Russia launches “hundreds of drones and missiles every week against the civilian population,” and therefore called for more air defenses and continued diplomatic efforts.
“We need real, reliable solutions that will help end the war,” he insisted.
The next stage of these negotiations will include direct contacts with Moscow and a review of any new proposed draft, in search of a workable balance between the territorial concessions demanded by Russia and the international guarantees of security and sovereignty claimed by Ukraine.
