Ukrainian peace negotiators land in Miami for talks with Trump envoys

A senior Ukrainian delegation led by Kyrylo Budanov arrived in the United States to open talks with envoys from President Donald Trump’s administration on a proposed framework to end the nearly four-year war with Russia. Meetings were reported to be scheduled in Miami with White House envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner and U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll among U.S. interlocutors.

Budanov announced the visit on social media, writing, "Arrived in the United States," and adding that he and other negotiators would hold "an important conversation with our American partners regarding the details of the peace agreement." The delegation included security chief Rustem Umerov and negotiator Davyd Arakhamia. Budanov has also posted that "Ukraine needs a just peace. We are working to achieve results."

Ukrainian officials said the immediate agenda will center on security guarantees and a post-war reconstruction and recovery package. Kyiv’s aim is to finalize documents that would define the nature of allied guarantees for Ukraine’s security and outline the economic framework for rebuilding. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged that, if approved by U.S. officials, documents could be signed next week on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, a move Kyiv hopes would help unlock roughly $800 billion in reconstruction investment.

Ukrainian and U.S. negotiators are reported to have drafted a 20-point peace proposal. Kyiv is seeking clarity on what guarantees would mean in practice - whether they would include permanent security commitments, rapid deployment mechanisms, arms or basing arrangements, or multilateral guarantees mediated by international institutions. Those details remain contested and central to any durable settlement.

Several hard issues are unresolved and could derail progress. Negotiators will confront the question of territorial compromises, the precise legal and operational shape of security guarantees, and the fate of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which remains under Russian control. Fighting continues along a front line that Ukrainian authorities place at more than 1,200 kilometers, complicating any political settlement.

The diplomatic push comes days before the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Ukrainian leaders warned that continuing Russian strikes are eroding diplomatic space. Kyiv reported overnight attacks on energy infrastructure in Kyiv and Odesa regions that left tens of settlements without power amid freezing temperatures. Zelenskyy has cautioned that such operations "are constantly worsening even the small opportunities for dialogue that existed" and stressed that the American side must understand this constraint.

The composition of the U.S. team underscores Washington’s high-level engagement and political urgency in the White House. President Trump has publicly urged an end to the conflict and signaled impatience with its duration, a posture that adds pressure to negotiators but also raises concern in Kyiv about possible demands for concessions it would view as unacceptable.

Even if Kyiv and Washington finalize and sign bilateral documents in Davos, any viable peace arrangement would still require consultation with and a response from Moscow. As the Miami meetings opened, Ukrainian negotiators emphasized they had not accepted any final terms and that no diplomatic breakthrough ending the war had been achieved. The coming days will test whether narrow technical agreements on guarantees and reconstruction can translate into a wider, politically sustainable settlement.