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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced that a high-level delegation, now led by National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov, is traveling to the United States to advance negotiations aimed at ending Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine. Umerov steps into the role after the former chief negotiator, presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak, resigned abruptly on Friday following an anti-corruption raid on his residence.
Zelenskiy said he expects discussions held last weekend in Geneva to move into a more detailed phase during Sunday’s meeting in Florida. According to a senior U.S. official, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner—son-in-law to President Donald Trump—will meet with Ukrainian officials to review Kyiv’s counter-proposal to earlier terms presented by U.S. Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll.
In a statement on X, Zelenskiy said Umerov had reported on preparations and emphasized that Ukraine must “swiftly and substantively” finalize the steps needed to achieve a viable agreement to stop the conflict. The diplomatic push comes as Kyiv faces mounting pressure from Washington to accept a peace deal amid one of the most challenging political and military periods since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
The Ukrainian government has been shaken by the fallout from a $100 million energy-sector corruption scandal that has already led to the dismissal of two ministers and now Zelenskiy’s influential chief of staff. After resigning, Yermak told the New York Post that he was heading “to the front,” insisting he remained “an honest and decent person.”
On the battlefield, Russian forces continue to make gradual advances, while Ukrainian cities endure prolonged blackouts as Russia intensifies its attacks on critical energy infrastructure. Despite the worsening situation, Zelenskiy recently vowed in a national address that he would not “betray the country,” reaffirming Ukraine’s determination to defend its sovereignty and pursue a just end to the war.
