A high‑stakes meeting is scheduled for Saturday in Miami, where Russia’s sovereign‑wealth chief will sit down with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to discuss a U.S.‑drafted plan that could end the war in Ukraine.
The Miami Meeting
Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s sovereign‑wealth fund, is expected to travel to Florida to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Trump’s son‑in‑law, Jared Kushner. The talks are slated for Saturday in Miami, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity and who said the meeting has not yet been publicly announced.
The meeting follows a series of talks in Berlin earlier in the week, where U.S. officials met with Ukrainian and European leaders. Those Berlin discussions covered U.S. security guarantees for Kyiv, territorial concessions, and other aspects of a plan authored by the United States that aims to end the war.
In a statement on Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was preparing for contacts with the U.S. to learn about the results of the Berlin meetings, but he did not provide further details.
U.S. Diplomatic Push
President Trump has launched an extensive diplomatic effort to end nearly four years of fighting that began with Russia’s full‑scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Washington’s attempts have met with sharply conflicting demands from Moscow and Kyiv.
On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Moscow would seek to extend its gains in Ukraine if Kyiv and its Western allies rejected the Kremlin’s demands in peace talks.
Putin’s demands include recognition of all areas in four key regions that his forces have captured, as well as the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014. He also wants Ukraine to withdraw from some eastern areas that Moscow’s forces have not yet taken.
The Kremlin insists that Ukraine abandon its bid to join NATO and warns that Moscow will not accept the deployment of any NATO troops, calling them a “legitimate target.”
Ukraine’s Position
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he is ready to drop Ukraine’s NATO membership bid if the United States and other Western nations provide security guarantees similar to those offered to NATO members. However, Ukraine’s preference remains NATO membership as the best security guarantee to prevent further Russian aggression.
Zelenskyy also rejected Moscow’s demands that it pull back its troops from areas that Russia has not been able to take by force. He said Ukrainian officials were expected to hold negotiations in the U.S. on Friday or Saturday.
During a visit to Brussels, where European leaders were set to decide whether to use tens of billions of euros in frozen Russian assets to underwrite a loan to meet Ukraine’s military and financial needs over the next two years, Zelenskyy said:
> “We have progress in our dialogue with the American side regarding some of our points, they also speak with Russian side,” he told reporters.
He added:
> “We are in the war and United States are decision‑makers, who can really stop Putin and I count on this. I really count on pressure from United States. Putin does not want to stop this war, but he can if United States will pressure more.”
EU Funding Debate
European Union leaders gathered for a high‑stakes summit to decide whether to use frozen Russian assets to provide a loan to Ukraine. The loan would cover the country’s military and financial needs for the next two years.
The decision could provide Ukraine with much-needed resources while also applying pressure on Russia. The use of frozen assets has been a contentious issue among EU member states, but the urgency of Ukraine’s needs has driven the debate forward.
Drone Attacks Amid Negotiations
While diplomatic talks were underway, the front lines remained active. Ukraine’s air force reported that Russia fired 82 drones of various types overnight, 63 of which were intercepted or jammed.
In Cherkasy, Russian drones that targeted critical infrastructure wounded six people and left parts of the city without electricity, regional administration head Ihor Taburets said. Russian drones also wounded four people in Kryvyi Rih and seven near Odesa, according to local officials.
In Russia’s Rostov region, three people were killed by Ukrainian drones overnight, including two crew members of a cargo ship that was hit in Rostov‑on‑Don and another man who died in Bataysk. At least 10 others were wounded, local officials said.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that its air defenses intercepted 47 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Key Takeaways
- Kirill Dmitriev will meet U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Miami on Saturday to discuss a U.S.‑authored plan for ending the war in Ukraine.
- Putin demands recognition of Russian‑controlled territories and withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from areas Russia has not captured, while the Kremlin insists Ukraine abandon its NATO bid.
- Zelenskyy remains committed to NATO membership but is willing to negotiate if the U.S. offers comparable security guarantees.
- European leaders are debating the use of frozen Russian assets to fund a two‑year loan to Ukraine.
- Drone attacks continue on both sides, with Russia launching 82 drones and Ukraine intercepting 47.
The upcoming Miami summit and the ongoing drone skirmishes highlight the complex interplay between diplomatic negotiations and military actions in the Ukraine conflict. As both sides prepare to engage, the world watches to see whether a lasting peace can be achieved amid continued hostilities and intense geopolitical maneuvering.
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