Ukrainian Negotiators Meet US Officials Amid Military Strain and Kyiv Shakeup

WASHINGTON D.C. :  A Ukrainian delegation is in the United States today for crucial talks on a Washington-backed plan to end the more than three-year conflict with Russia, amid simultaneous military and political pressures on Kyiv.

The talks are being led by Rustem Umerov, the Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, following the sudden resignation of top negotiator and Presidential Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak on Friday due to a major corruption probe.

The Ukrainian team is due to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in Florida. The US plan seeks to freeze the conflict, but an initial 28-point proposal drew heavy criticism from Kyiv and European allies for appearing to favor Russian demands, including the de facto recognition of the Donetsk, Crimea, and Lugansk regions as Russian. The specific contents of the current, pared-back draft remain undisclosed.

The diplomatic push will continue Monday when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron for talks in Paris.

Hours before the talks, a major strategic target in Russia was struck. One of Russia’s largest oil terminals, owned by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC)—which includes US majors Chevron and ExxonMobil—halted operations on Saturday following an attack by sea drones. The CPC called the strike a “terrorist attack.”

Separately, a Ukrainian security source claimed responsibility for attacks on two empty oil tankers, the Virat and the Kairos, in the Black Sea off the Turkish coast, claiming the vessels were covertly transporting sanctioned Russian oil. The source stated the vessels were hit by “Modernised Sea Baby naval drones.”

While the diplomatic and strategic strikes unfolded, Russia intensified its night-time attacks on Ukraine. Russian forces targeted the capital and its region for two nights in a row:

A drone attack on the outskirts of Kyiv killed one person and wounded 11, including a child, in Vyshgorod, according to the regional governor.

A missile and drone attack killed three people and left hundreds of thousands without power.

Russia maintains that it targets energy infrastructure powering Ukraine’s military, while Ukraine asserts the strikes are aimed at wearing down the civilian population.