Zelensky seeks European support amid US pressure for deal with Russia
The comments were more emphatic about Ukraine’s long-term security than other remarks from the US administration, while Trump himself has see-sawed between declaring Ukraine could win the war or did not “have the cards” to defeat Russia.
Rubio said the Russian side of the negotiation had to be “part of the equation” but his remarks appeared to address the concern in Ukraine that a weak peace would only be a pause in the war because Putin did not believe Ukraine should exist.
“We want the Ukrainian people to emerge from this war not just to rebuild their country, but to build it back in a way that will be stronger and more prosperous than it’s ever been,” the US Secretary of State said.
“And so this is comprehensive, what we’re working on here today. It’s not just about the terms that end fighting. It’s about also the terms that set up Ukraine for long-term prosperity.”
The Ukrainian side is under sustained pressure at home and abroad after a corruption scandal forced Zelensky to remove his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, who led the negotiations until Friday.
Zelensky sent a new negotiating team, led by Umerov, to Florida on Sunday to meet Rubio, Witkoff and the US president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. The meeting began on Sunday morning in Miami (3am on Monday morning, AEDT) and ended about four hours later.
Umerov spoke to the media briefly alongside Rubio at the end of the meeting.
“US is hearing us,” Umerov said. “US is supporting us. US is working beside us.”
There was no statement on the details of any agreement.
“Our objective is a prosperous, strong Ukraine,” Umerov said. “We discussed all the important matters that are important for Ukraine, for the Ukrainian people, and the US was super supportive.”
The talks in Miami will be followed by negotiations with the Kremlin, with Witkoff and Kushner flying to Russia within days to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and his advisers.
Umerov is seen as a trusted aide to Zelensky after serving as defence minister from September 2023 to July 2025, when he stepped aside to become Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council.
He was joined in Miami by Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha and the head of Ukraine’s armed forces, Andrii Hnatov.
The corruption scandal, centred on alleged kickbacks in the energy industry, has led to weeks of turmoil in the government, including the resignations of Justice Minister German Galushchenko and Energy Minister Svitlana Grynchuk on November 12.
Renewed push for peace
Investigators have claimed that financial wrongdoing was led by Timur Mindich, a television executive who co-founded a production house with Zelensky when the president was a television star before entering politics. Mindich is said to have fled to Israel.
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In a bid to restore stability to his government, Zelensky announced on Sunday that Oksana Markarova, a former ambassador to Washington, would become his adviser on reconstruction and investment.
While the Trump aides are talking to Ukraine and Russia this week, European leaders have pushed back at proposals in the peace plan drafted by Witkoff in recent weeks, which included the rapid removal of sanctions on Putin and his government.
Witkoff is seen as too close to the Russian side and is being tarnished by media leaks and detailed press attention. Bloomberg revealed the transcript of a private conversation he had with a top Russian negotiator, painting him as favouring Russia, and The Wall Street Journal published a detailed investigation into how Trump allies have pursued business opportunities with Russia.
‘Peace is within reach, if Vladimir Putin abandons his delusional hope of reconstituting the Soviet empire’.
Jean-Noel Barrot, French foreign minister
The exposure has fuelled the suspicion that the Trump negotiator is seeking to restore economic ties between the US and Russia – and possibly help the president’s friends – at the cost of security for Ukraine.
In one quote in the Journal article, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk questioned the motivations behind the US agenda, saying: “We know this is not about peace. It’s about business.”
While the original 28-point peace plan has been replaced in negotiations with the US and European leaders, there is no public draft with agreed positions.
Zelensky spoke on Sunday with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and French leader Emmanuel Macron in November. They are to meet again on Monday.Credit: AP
He will go to Paris on Monday (late on Monday, AEDT) to talk to Macron, another advocate of a peace proposal that avoids any weakening of Ukrainian defences.
Ahead of that meeting, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Sunday there was a chance of an agreement, but only if Putin accepted Ukraine’s independence.
“Peace is within reach, if Vladimir Putin abandons his delusional hope of reconstituting the Soviet Empire by first subjugating Ukraine,” he said.
“Vladimir Putin must accept the ceasefire or accept exposing Russia to new sanctions that will exhaust its economy, as well as intensified European support for Ukraine.”
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