Secretary of State Marco Rubio emerged from talks with Ukrainian officials in Florida on Sunday to say that there was still “much work to do” on a proposal to end the war with Russia.
Missing from the Ukrainian group was Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s right-hand man and chief of staff who resigned on Friday amid a corruption investigation. Mr. Yermak had served as lead negotiator in recent talks with American officials.
Neither Mr. Rubio nor Rustem Umerov, who led the Ukrainian delegation after Mr. Yermak’s resignation, revealed details of the discussions, although both described the talks as productive. Steve Witkoff, a special envoy for the president, will travel to Moscow in the next few days.
Ukrainian officials have insisted that the dynamics of the discussions would not fundamentally change, even though Mr. Yermak had played a central role.
In Mr. Yermak’s absence, Mr. Zelensky has emphasized that the work of his office for the negotiations is continuing apace. He said that he had sent a Ukrainian delegation led by Rustem Umerov, the head of the National Security and Defense Council, to the United States for talks to hammer out the details that came out of earlier negotiations in Geneva.
“The American side is demonstrating a constructive approach, and in the coming days, it is feasible to flesh out the steps to determine how to bring the war to a dignified end,” Mr. Zelensky said on Saturday in his nightly address. “The Ukrainian delegation has the necessary directives, and I expect the guys to work in accordance with clear Ukrainian priorities.”
Last week, Mr. Yermak negotiated to soften a draft proposal to end the war from the Trump administration, whose 28 points largely reflected Russian demands. These included withdrawing from territory in eastern Ukraine, forgoing NATO membership and ruling out a postwar Western peacekeeping force for Ukraine.
The proposal included a promise of security guarantees to prevent another Russian invasion that would be enforced in part by the United States, but without detailing the level of commitment to Ukraine’s defense.
With Ukraine facing pressure on the battlefield and from the White House, the continued involvement of Mr. Yermak — whose home was raided by investigators on Friday — was seen by some Ukrainians as a potential distraction in negotiations.
His departure helped ease worries in Ukraine that Russia or the United States might use the $100 million embezzlement scandal as leverage to push Kyiv to make painful concessions in talks.
Shawn McCreesh contributed reporting.
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