KEY POINTS
- President Zelensky says US proposes direct Ukraine–Russia talks in Miami
- Ukrainian, Russian and European delegations are in Miami
- Washington has floated security guarantees for Ukraine
MIAMI, United States: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the United States to put more pressure on Russia to end the war, as diplomats converged on Miami for fresh talks.
Zelensky also stated that Washington had proposed the first face-to-face negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in half a year, but later expressed skepticism that they would be helpful.
Zelensky said that only the United States was capable of persuading Russia to end the war, and he called on Washington to increase pressure on Moscow to make that happen.
“America must clearly say: if not diplomacy, then there will be full pressure…Putin does not yet feel the kind of pressure that should exist,” he said, stressing the need for more arms supplies to Ukraine and sanctions on the entire Russian economy.
The Ukrainian leader’s comments in Kyiv came as Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev arrived in Miami where Ukrainian and European teams have also gathered for the negotiations, mediated by US special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
“Discussions are being held constructively,” Dmitriev told reporters, according to Russian state media, adding that “they started and continue today, and will also continue tomorrow.”
Trump’s envoys have pushed a peace plan in which the United States would offer security guarantees to Ukraine, but Kyiv would likely be expected to surrender some territory, a prospect resented by many Ukrainians.
However, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday promised not to force Ukraine into any agreement, saying “there’s no peace deal unless Ukraine agrees to it”. He added that he may join the talks on Saturday in Miami, his hometown.
Dmitriev wrote in an X post that he was “on the way to Miami”, adding a peace dove emoji and attaching a short video of a morning sun shining through clouds on a beach with palms.
“As warmongers keep working overtime to undermine the US peace plan for Ukraine, I remembered this video from my previous visit — light breaking through the storm clouds,” he added.
On the way to Miami 🕊️.
As warmongers keep working overtime to undermine the US peace plan for Ukraine, I remembered this video from my previous visit – light breaking through the storm clouds. 🌤️ pic.twitter.com/LESPIc7qIS
— Kirill Dmitriev (@kadmitriev) December 20, 2025
Russian and European involvement in talks
The last time Ukrainian and Russian envoys held official direct talks was in July in Istanbul, which led to prisoner swaps but little else in the way of concrete progress.
Russian and European involvement marks a step forward from before, when the Americans held separate negotiations with each side in different locations.
However, it is unlikely Dmitriev would hold direct talks with European negotiators as relations between the two sides remain extremely strained.
Moscow argues that Europe’s involvement in the talks would only hinder the process.
Putin vows to press ahead
The weekend talks come after President Vladimir Putin vowed to press ahead with his military offensive in Ukraine, hailing Moscow’s battlefield gains nearly four years into his war in an annual news conference on Friday.
Russia announced on Saturday it had captured two villages in Ukraine’s Sumy and Donetsk regions, further grinding through the country’s east in battles.
Putin however suggested that Russia could pause its strikes on the country to allow Ukraine to hold a presidential ballot — a prospect which his Ukrainian counterpart rejected.
“It is not Putin who decides when and in what format the elections in Ukraine will take place,” said Zelensky, who also ruled out votes in territories captured by Russia.
Moscow earlier said it will expand strikes on Ukrainian ports as retaliation for targeting its sanctions-busting oil tankers.
On Saturday, Ukraine claimed to have destroyed two Russian fighter jets at an airfield in Crimea, according to the security service SBU. While Kyiv’s army said it struck a Russian oil rig in the Caspian Sea as well as a patrol ship nearby.
