Russia claims talks on US peace plan for Ukraine ‘are proceeding constructively’ — despite recent strikes
In Miami this weekend, Russian diplomat Kirill Dmitriev told reporters that the U.S.–backed peace talks aimed at ending nearly four years of fighting in Ukraine were moving forward “constructively.” He added that the discussions had started earlier, would go on today, and would continue into tomorrow.
Dmitriev sat down with U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the former First‑Family son‑in‑law, in a session that RIA Novosti reported.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted on Telegram that the diplomatic effort was progressing “quite quickly” and that his team in Florida was working closely with the American side.
This followed his chief negotiator’s claim that the Ukrainian delegation had already completed separate meetings in the United States with U.S. and European partners.
Trump’s administration has been pushing hard for a settlement, but Moscow and Kyiv have found it difficult to agree on terms. President Vladimir Putin has signaled that he is holding fast to his maximalist demands, even as Russian troops lose ground on the battlefield.
That night, he expressed confidence that the Kremlin would reach its military objectives if Kyiv refused to accept his conditions in any peace talks.
In other developments, France has welcomed the possibility of talks between President Emmanuel Macron and Putin. Macron’s office said it would decide “in the coming days” whether to pursue a dialogue, noting that “as soon as the prospect of a ceasefire and peace negotiations becomes clearer, it becomes useful again to speak with Putin.”
The statement stressed that any dialogue would aim “to contribute to a solid and lasting peace for Ukraine and Europe, in full transparency with President Zelenskyy and our European partners.”
European Union leaders approved last Friday a package of 90 billion euros ($106 billion) to meet Ukraine’s military and economic needs over the next two years. The bloc could not agree on using frozen Russian assets to fund the aid, so the money will be raised through capital‑market borrowing.
Back in Ukraine, the national human‑rights ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, accused Russian forces of forcibly relocating about 50 civilians from the Sumy border area into Russia. In a Telegram post, he said the residents of the village of Hrabovske were detained on Thursday, moved to Russian territory on Saturday, and then “illegally” detained.
Lubinets has reached out to Russia’s human‑rights commissioner, demanding information on the civilians’ whereabouts and condemning the move as a violation of their rights.
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