BY EMMANUEL OGBONNA
American envoys and Ukrainian officials say they will return to the negotiating table for a third straight day on Saturday, insisting that although talks in Florida have yielded incremental progress on a potential security framework for postwar Ukraine, any substantive breakthrough will ultimately depend on Russia demonstrating a genuine willingness to pursue lasting peace.
The joint statement issued late Friday by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, presidential adviser Jared Kushner, and Ukrainian negotiators Rustem Umerov and Andriy Hnatov offered only broad outlines of where the discussions stand. The group has been working to refine elements of a U.S.-mediated proposal aimed at bringing an end to nearly four years of conflict. But both sides underscored that the central obstacle remains Moscow’s reluctance to commit to meaningful de-escalation.
“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,” their statement said. Negotiators also reviewed what they described as a “future prosperity agenda,” including projects for Ukraine’s reconstruction, joint economic initiatives, and support for long-term recovery once the war ends.
The talks in Florida follow a high-profile meeting between Witkoff, Kushner, and President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin earlier in the week. Those discussions sparked intense international scrutiny, with European leaders and Ukrainian officials wary that Moscow may be using the prospect of diplomacy to buy time on the battlefield.
Friday’s session took place at the Shell Bay Club in Hallandale Beach, a luxury venue linked to Witkoff’s real estate company. The surroundings stood in stark contrast to the urgency of the moment: previous diplomatic efforts have repeatedly collapsed, the war continues to burn across Ukraine’s front lines, and the leaked details of Trump’s initial 28-point peace plan have raised both hopes and skepticism.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his delegation in Florida was eager to hear what had transpired during the Kremlin meeting. He has long accused Putin of prolonging talks for strategic purposes while Russian forces attempt to seize more territory. In a video address Thursday, he said Ukrainian officials wanted to understand “what other pretexts Putin has come up with to drag out the war and pressure Ukraine.”
In Moscow, Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov, who joined the Tuesday meeting with the U.S. envoys, praised Kushner’s potential influence. Speaking to Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin, Ushakov claimed that if a peace plan crystallizes, “it will be the pen of Mr. Kushner that will lead the way.” His remarks were perceived by some analysts as an attempt to play on political tensions between Washington, Kyiv, and European capitals, especially as Trump expresses growing impatience over the prolonged conflict.
Putin himself has described the talks with Witkoff and Kushner as “necessary” and “useful,” while simultaneously dismissing several U.S. proposals as unacceptable. That dual message mirrored the Kremlin’s recent efforts to criticize European demands for security guarantees while presenting Russia as open to dialogue on its own terms.
Kushner, who previously helped broker the Abraham Accords during Trump’s first term, has taken on a more informal but increasingly visible role during Trump’s second attempt at the presidency. He was involved this autumn in ceasefire and hostage-negotiation efforts between Israel and Hamas, and has now stepped into one of the most consequential diplomatic challenges facing Washington.
European leaders, meanwhile, continue to shape their own approach to the peace talks. Speaking from India, Ushakov accused Europe of complicating efforts to reach a settlement, saying that Kyiv’s allies are “constantly putting forward demands unacceptable to Moscow.” European governments, particularly those neighboring Russia, have insisted that any deal must include strong guarantees to prevent future aggression — a position Moscow rejects.
French President Emmanuel Macron, returning from meetings in Beijing, said Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed a willingness to support efforts aimed at stabilizing the conflict. Macron emphasized that unity between the United States and Europe remains essential and that Ukraine must be ensured protection against renewed attacks should a settlement be reached.
Even as diplomacy unfolds at multiple levels, the war continues to deliver deadly consequences. Russian drone strikes on Thursday night destroyed a home in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, killing a 12-year-old boy and injuring two women, local officials said. Ukraine’s air force reported that Russia launched 137 drones of different types during the overnight assault.
Ukrainian forces responded with long-range drone attacks on Russian infrastructure, targeting the Temriuk sea port in the Krasnodar region and the Syzran oil refinery in Samara, igniting fires at both sites. The refinery sits hundreds of miles from the Ukrainian border, underscoring Kyiv’s continued push to disrupt Russian logistics and fuel supplies.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed its air defenses intercepted 85 Ukrainian drones across several regions and in Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. The conflicting accounts reflect the increasingly expansive nature of drone warfare, now one of the most significant elements of the conflict.
Saturday’s meeting in Florida is expected to focus on Ukraine’s long-term “deterrence capabilities” and the security needs it would require to sustain peace if a settlement were reached. With the war grinding on, diplomats on all sides acknowledge that while the talks mark a notable diplomatic moment, the path to a real agreement remains narrow — and dependent on decisions still to be made in Moscow.
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