Rubio says “more work to be done” after hours of U.S.-Ukraine talks to end Russian war

U.S. and Ukrainian officials completed roughly four hours of talks Sunday aimed at finding an endgame to the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio described Sunday’s session — which included special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President Trump, and Ukrainian delegates — as “productive and useful,” but talks will continue this week in Moscow with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

“We don’t just want to end the war. We also want to help Ukraine be safe forever. So never again will they face another invasion. And equally importantly, we want them to enter an age of true prosperity,” he said. “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.”

The negotiations come at a sensitive moment for Ukraine as it continues to push back against Russian forces that invaded in 2022 while dealing with a domestic corruption scandal.

Diplomats have been focused on revisions to a proposed plan developed in negotiations between Washington and Moscow. That plan has been criticized as being too weighted toward Russian demands. During the meeting Sunday, Rubio focused on reassuring Ukraine.

Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s secretary of national security, thanked American negotiators in brief remarks following the meeting but provided little detail of their discussion.

“We discussed all the important matters that are important for Ukraine, for Ukrainian people and us, was super supportive. We were already had a successful meeting in Geneva, and today we continue this success,” Umerov said. “So at the moment, this meeting was productive and successful on the later stages, hopefully we’ll keep you updated.”

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 Andrii Hnatov, the head of Ukraine’s armed forces, and presidential adviser Oleksandr Bevz.

The plan, which Mr. 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’s 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.

Mr. 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 Mr. 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 on 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.