A senior Kremlin envoy is set to travel to Florida for high-stakes discussions on an American-authored plan to end the war in Ukraine, a US official confirmed on Thursday. The diplomatic push comes as European Union leaders simultaneously consider a multi-billion euro loan to support Ukraine's embattled government.
Miami Meeting: A New Phase in Shuttle Diplomacy
Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, is scheduled to meet with US President Donald Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, in Miami on Saturday. An American official, speaking on condition of anonymity, disclosed the plans for the meeting, which has not been formally announced.
This follows meetings earlier this week in Berlin, where Witkoff and Kushner discussed the US proposal with Ukrainian and European officials. The plan reportedly covers US security guarantees for Kyiv, potential territorial concessions, and other measures aimed at halting nearly four years of conflict since Russia's full-scale invasion began on 24 February 2022.
When asked about the impending talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Moscow was preparing for contacts with the US to learn about the outcomes from Berlin but offered no further details.
Conflicting Demands: The Stumbling Blocks to Peace
Washington's extensive diplomatic efforts have encountered sharply opposing demands from Moscow and Kyiv. Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Wednesday that Russia would seek to extend its gains if Ukraine and its Western allies rejected the Kremlin's terms.
Putin's core demands include the recognition of all captured areas in four key regions, plus the illegally annexed Crimean Peninsula, as Russian territory. He also insists Ukraine withdraws from some eastern areas not yet under Moscow's control. Furthermore, the Kremlin demands that Ukraine abandons its NATO bid and warns it will view any deployed troops from alliance members as a "legitimate target."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has expressed a conditional readiness to drop the NATO membership aspiration if the US and other Western nations provide equivalent security guarantees. However, he has firmly rejected ceding territory that Russian forces have failed to capture by force.
"We have progress in our dialogue with the American side regarding some of our points, they also speak with Russian side," Zelenskyy said during a visit to Brussels. He emphasised his reliance on US pressure, stating, "Putin does not want to stop this war, but he can if United States will pressure more."
War on the Ground and in the Air Continues
As diplomacy unfolds, hostilities persist. Overnight, Ukraine's air force reported that Russia launched 82 drones of various types, with 63 being intercepted or jammed. Attacks on critical infrastructure in Cherkasy wounded six people and caused power outages, while strikes in Kryvyi Rih and near Odesa wounded eleven others combined.
On the Russian side, officials in the Rostov region said three people were killed by Ukrainian drone attacks, including two crew members of a cargo ship hit in Rostov-on-Don. At least ten others were wounded. The Russian Defence Ministry claimed its air defences intercepted 47 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Meanwhile, in Brussels, EU leaders are deciding whether to use tens of billions in frozen Russian assets to underwrite a loan addressing Ukraine's military and financial needs for the next two years, underscoring the high stakes of both the battlefield and the negotiating table.
