HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. — U.S. and Ukrainian officials held roughly four hours of talks Sunday aimed at finding an endgame for the Russia-Ukraine war. Sen. Marco Rubio said the session was productive but cautioned that more work is needed to reach a peace deal that also secures Ukraine’s long-term prosperity.
“It’s not just about the terms that ends fighting,” Rubio said. “It’s about also the terms that set up Ukraine for long-term prosperity. … I think we built on that today, but there’s more work to be done.”
The high-level negotiations in Florida came days before President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is set to travel to Moscow to meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Rubio, Witkoff and Jared Kushner represented the American side. The meeting took place at the Shell Bay Club in Hallandale Beach, a golf and racket club developed by Witkoff.
Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine’s security council, thanked the U.S. for its support. “U.S. is hearing us,” he said. “U.S. is supporting us. U.S. is working beside us.” He emphasized Ukraine’s goal of becoming “a prosperous, strong Ukraine” and said the talks covered matters important to the Ukrainian people, without detailing any concrete progress.
Diplomats have been revising a U.S.-authored plan developed in talks between Washington and Moscow that critics say leans toward Russian demands. The framework, described by Trump as a “concept” or “map” to be fine-tuned, had included limits on the size of Ukraine’s military, a ban on NATO membership and a requirement for Ukraine to hold elections within 100 days. It initially envisioned ceding the Donbas region to Russia — a major sticking point for Kyiv. Negotiators say the framework has changed, but specifics remain unclear.
The discussions come amid turmoil in Kyiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday announced the resignation of his powerful chief of staff and lead negotiator, Andrii Yermak, after anti-corruption investigators searched his home. The government is also dealing with fallout from an alleged $100 million embezzlement scheme in the energy sector involving contractor kickbacks.
Among Ukraine’s delegation were Andrii Hnatov, head of Ukraine’s armed forces, and presidential adviser Oleksandr Bevz. Rubio had met with Yermak in Geneva last week, and both sides called those talks positive in shaping a revised plan.
Trump said he would send Witkoff — and possibly Kushner — to Moscow this week to discuss the plan with Putin. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov indicated Putin would meet Witkoff before leaving for India on Thursday. Witkoff and Kushner, both from the real estate world, have framed peace proposals in previous crises, including a 20-point plan tied to a ceasefire in Gaza.
Zelenskyy wrote on X that the Ukrainian delegation would “swiftly and substantively work out the steps needed to end the war.” In his nightly address Saturday, he said the American side was “demonstrating a constructive approach,” and called it feasible to flesh out steps in the coming days to bring the war to a “dignified end.”
Attacks continued despite diplomatic efforts. On Saturday, Russian drone and missile strikes in and around Kyiv killed at least three people and wounded dozens. Fresh attacks overnight into Sunday killed one and wounded 19, including four children, when a drone struck a nine-story apartment block in Vyshhorod. Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post that Russia had attacked Ukraine with 122 strike drones and ballistic missiles, noting that “this week alone, Russians have used nearly 1,400 strike drones, 1,100 guided aerial bombs and 66 missiles against our people.”
After Ukraine claimed responsibility for damaging a major oil terminal near the Russian port of Novorossiysk — part of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal handling much of Kazakhstan’s exports — Kazakhstan urged Ukraine to stop attacks on the Black Sea terminal. Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry said the incident harmed bilateral relations and expected Ukraine to take measures to prevent similar actions.
Madhani reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Elise Morton in London contributed to this report.
