Rubio: Ukraine Peace Talks 'Very Productive,' but More Work Needed

A four-hour meeting between U.S. and Ukrainian officials in Florida on Sunday was "very productive," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, adding that work still remains toward ending Russia's war in Ukraine.

President Donald Trump's peace envoy Steve Witkoff is going to take the latest progress in talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin this week.

"There are a lot of moving parts, and obviously there's another party involved here that will have to be a part of the equation, and that will continue later this week, when Mr. Witkoff travels to Moscow, although we've also been in touch in varying degrees with the Russian side, but we have a pretty good understanding of their views as well," Rubio told reporters.

"Much work remains."

The peacemaking is not just about the long-hoped ceasefire but long-term business dealmaking, Rubio added, saying the U.S. delegation is "realistic but optimistic."

"It's not just about the terms that ends fighting," he added. "It's about also the terms that set up Ukraine for long-term prosperity.

"I think we build on that today, but there's more work to be done."

Rubio, Witkoff, and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, represented the American side in the talks, held at a sensitive time as Ukraine continues to push back against Russian forces that invaded in 2022 while dealing with a domestic corruption scandal.

Diplomats have focused on revisions to a proposed U.S.-authored plan that was developed in negotiations between Washington and Moscow. That plan has been criticized as being too weighted toward Russian demands. As the meeting began Sunday, Rubio focused on reassuring Ukraine.

"The end goal is, obviously, not just the end of the war," Rubio said. "But it's also about securing an end to the war that leaves Ukraine sovereign and independent and with an opportunity at real prosperity."

"This is not just about peace deals," the top American diplomat said as the teams sat down at the Shell Bay Club, a golf and racket club developed by Witkoff in Hallandale Beach.

Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine's security council, responded to Rubio by expressing his country's appreciation for U.S. efforts, a message geared toward Trump, who has at times claimed that Ukraine has not been sufficiently grateful for U.S. assistance during the war.

"U.S. is hearing us," Umerov said. "U.S. is supporting us. U.S. is working beside us."

Umerov, who appeared with Rubio to deliver a brief statement to reporters after the talks, underscored Ukraine's gratitude for U.S. support during nearly 4-year war. But the senior official offered no hints about what, if any, progress was made during the talks.

"Our objective is a prosperous, strong Ukraine," Umerov said. "We discussed all the, important, matters that are important for Ukraine, for Ukrainian people, and U.S. was super supportive."

Umerov has been involved in ongoing talks.

But until now, Ukraine's head negotiator had been Andriy Yermak, the powerful chief of staff of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

On Friday, Zelenskyy announced the resignation of Yermak, after his home was searched by anti-corruption investigators.

Zelenskyy's government has been roiled by fallout from a scandal over $100 million embezzled from the energy sector through kickbacks paid by contractors, causing newfound domestic pressures for Zelenskyy.

It was only a week ago that Rubio had met with Yermak in Geneva, with each side saying the talks had been positive in putting together a revised peace plan.

Among the other members of the Ukrainian delegation were Andriy Hnatov, the head of Ukraine's armed forces, and presidential adviser Oleksandr Bevz.

The plan, which Trump has since played down as a "concept" or a "map" to be "fine-tuned," would have imposed limits on the size of Ukraine’s military, blocked the country from joining NATO and required Ukraine to hold elections in 100 days.

Negotiators have indicated the framework has changed, but it is not clear how its provisions have been altered.

It had initially envisioned Ukraine ceding the entire eastern region of the Donbas to Russia — a sticking point for Kyiv.

Trump said Tuesday that he would send Witkoff and perhaps Kushner to Moscow this week to meet with Putin about the plan. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in comments published Sunday on Russian state television, said Putin would see Witkoff before Thursday, when Putin departs for India.

Both Witkoff and Kushner, like Trump, hail from the world of real estate that values dealmaking over the conventions of diplomacy. The pair also were behind a 20-point proposal that led 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, Zelenskyy said the American side was "demonstrating a constructive approach."

"In the coming days it is feasible to flesh out the steps to determine how to bring the war to a dignified end," he said.

Russian drone and missile attacks Saturday in and around Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, killed at least three people and wounded dozens more, officials said.

Fresh attacks overnight into Sunday killed one person and wounded 19 others, including four children, local officials said, when a drone hit a nine-story apartment block in the city of Vyshhorod in the Kyiv region.

In a post on Telegram Sunday, Zelenskyy said Russia had attacked Ukraine with 122 strike drones and ballistic missiles.

"Such attacks occur daily. This week alone, Russians have used nearly 1,400 strike drones, 1,100 guided aerial bombs and 66 missiles against our people. That is why we must strengthen Ukraine’s resilience every day. Missiles and air defense systems are necessary, and we must also actively work with our partners for peace," Zelenskyy said.

"We need real, reliable solutions that will help end the war," he added.

After Ukraine claimed responsibility for damaging a major oil terminal on Saturday near the Russian port of Novorossiysk, owned by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, Kazakhstan told Ukraine on Sunday to stop attacking the Black Sea terminal.

The CPC pipeline, which starts in Kazakhstan and ends at the Novorossisyk terminal, handles a large proportion of Kazakhstan's oil exports.

"We view what has occurred as an action harming the bilateral relations of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Ukraine, and we expect the Ukrainian side to take effective measures to prevent similar incidents in the future," Kazakhstan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.