Rubio, Witkoff meet Ukraine’s negotiators as Trump pushes to broker end to war

West Palm Beach: Top Trump administration officials are meeting Ukrainian negotiators in Florida this weekend, pushing to broker an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine and setting the stage for key talks planned this week in Moscow with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, were expected to sit down with a Ukrainian delegation to further hash out the details of a proposed peace framework — talks that come at a sensitive moment for Ukraine as it continues to push back against Russian forces that invaded the country in 2022.

On Friday, just before the Florida sit-down, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the resignation of his powerful chief of staff, Andrii Yermak, who up until that point had been the country’s lead negotiator in talks with the US. The announcement came after Yermak’s home was searched by anti-corruption investigators. Zelenskyy’s government has been roiled by fallout from a scandal over USD 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.