Ukrainian negotiators arrived in the United States for talks in Miami with President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll, seeking a pathway to end nearly four years of war with Russia as strikes batter Ukraine’s energy grid in a brutal cold snap.
Kyrylo Budanov, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s new chief of staff and head of the Ukrainian delegation, said on social media the team had landed and would “have an important conversation with our American partners regarding the details of the peace agreement.” He added that “a joint meeting with Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, and (US Army Secretary) Daniel Driscoll is planned.”
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Budanov is joined by security chief Rustem Umerov and veteran negotiator David Arakhamia. Kyiv is pressing for clarity on post-war security guarantees from allies, which Ukrainian officials say are vital to deter a renewed Russian assault. Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States said a day earlier that the talks would focus on security guarantees and post-war reconstruction.
Trump has publicly pushed for an end to Europe’s worst conflict since World War II and expressed frustration with both sides, though no breakthrough has emerged. The Miami talks come as the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion approaches next month and as Moscow intensifies attacks on power infrastructure across Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said he hopes to sign documents with the Americans at the World Economic Forum in Davos next week, underscoring the push to convert discussions into a framework for security commitments and a path toward rebuilding.
On the battlefield, Russia’s advance in eastern Ukraine has gathered pace since autumn. The Kremlin has insisted it will seize the rest of the Ukrainian territory it claims as Russian by force if diplomacy fails. Moscow said its forces captured two more villages in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions, consolidating control across large swathes of the south and east.
The urgency of a deal is magnified by the humanitarian strain inside Ukraine. Authorities reported temperatures dipping as low as -19C as thousands in Kyiv and surrounding areas endured little or no heating after another round of overnight strikes. In the Bucha district outside the capital—where Russian forces committed atrocities in 2022—officials said 56,000 families were without electricity. Kyiv city schools will remain closed until February on health grounds, officials said.
Ukraine’s energy ministry said most regions were under power restrictions and declared a state of emergency in the energy sector “due to constant massive attacks by the Russian Federation.” The rolling outages underscore the vulnerability of Ukraine’s grid as winter deepens and underscore why Kyiv is demanding durable security assurances tied to post-war rebuilding.
Territory and the scope of security guarantees remain the core sticking points in any plan to end the war. The United Kingdom and France have signed a declaration of intent to deploy troops to Ukraine if there is a cease-fire, according to Ukrainian officials, a concept Moscow has rejected while warning that any foreign forces on Ukrainian soil would be “legitimate targets.”
The Miami meetings will test whether Washington and Kyiv can narrow differences on the nature and timing of guarantees—ranging from air defenses and long-term military aid to mechanisms for deterring renewed aggression—while aligning on the sequencing of reconstruction and governance priorities after major combat ends.
With front lines shifting and Ukraine’s energy system under sustained pressure, both sides are signaling that the coming weeks are critical. Whether the discussions in Miami and any follow-on engagement in Davos yield concrete commitments could shape the trajectory of the war as it enters a fifth year.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
