KHARKIV, Ukraine and LONDON — President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff is due in Moscow on Monday to present a peace-plan proposal to Russian President Vladimir Putin, a pivotal test of the Trump administration’s bid to end the war in Ukraine.
Witkoff’s trip follows his participation in talks with a high-level Ukrainian delegation in Florida aimed at finding a deal both Kyiv and Moscow might accept. There is little expectation Putin will agree. He has made hardline remarks, repeating demands that Ukraine withdraw from territory he claims and calling negotiations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “pointless,” suggesting Moscow believes battlefield gains reduce the need to bargain.
Zelenskyy is expected in Paris to meet French President Emmanuel Macron, where they are likely to discuss the U.S.-led negotiations. Ukraine and European leaders appear to be signaling solidarity as U.S. and Russian moves draw attention.
Zelenskyy said his emissaries in Florida reported back the “main parameters” of the discussions and “some preliminary results,” but he awaits a full briefing in person. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who took part in the talks, called the next steps “delicate,” noting the process is complicated with “a lot of moving parts.” He said another party — Russia — will need to be part of the equation when Witkoff travels to Moscow, and that U.S. officials have been in varying degrees of contact with the Russian side and have a “pretty good understanding of their views.”
U.S. and Ukrainian officials described the roughly two-hour meeting at Shell Bay Golf Course in Hallandale Beach as productive, but released no details of any agreements and gave no indication of a breakthrough on core issues that would end the war.
The talks covered a revised 19-point peace plan developed during talks in Geneva a week earlier that reworked an earlier 28-point proposal criticized by Kyiv and European allies as favoring Russia. Officials did not say whether the plan discussed in Florida had been further updated.
A source familiar with the discussions said they covered security guarantees for Ukraine, the fate of billions in Russian assets frozen by Western countries, and possible elections in Ukraine — the frozen assets issue was described as “key” for Russia. On the central demand that Ukraine cede unoccupied territory in the Donbas, there was no sign of progress: Russia remained unwilling to discuss any form of ceasefire, and Ukraine would not agree to surrender territory.
Rubio called the session “very productive and useful” and said there is a shared vision that the effort is not only about ending the war but also about securing Ukraine’s future. Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s lead negotiator, said the Florida meeting continued the “success” of Geneva and indicated there would be “later stages” to the talks.