A Ukrainian delegation is in the US this weekend to meet Donald Trump’s top leadership for high-stakes talks aimed at shaping a potential peace framework to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Secretary of state Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the US president’s son-in-law, are holding discussions with a Ukrainian delegation to refine the 28-point peace plan proposed by Trump.
The Ukrainian delegation includes Andrii Hnatov, the head of Ukraine’s armed forces; Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine’s foreign minister; and Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine’s security council, president Volodymyr Zelensky said.
It comes as an official from Ukraine’s security services said it has hit “shadow fleet” tankers in the Black Sea as they headed to a Russian terminal to load up with oil bound for foreign markets.
Ukraine used domestically produced Sea Baby drones to strike off the Turkish coast, prompting a rescue operation by the Turkish coast guard. All members aboard the vessels are reported to be safe.
A massive Russian missile and drone attack in Kyiv has killed six people and wounded dozens in strikes targeting Ukrainian military-industrial and energy facilities.
While politicians wrangle over Trump’s peace plan, soldiers are still dying, says Ukrainian filmmaker
Mstyslav Chernov, the Academy Award-winning director of 20 Days in Mariupol, gave The Independent an insight into morale on the frontline after the limited release of his latest documentary, 2000 Meters to Andriivka, put him straight on the battlefield with Ukraine’s armed forces.
It comes as Ukrainian officials continue to negotiate peace terms after the US president Donald Trump put forward a deal to end the war which critics have described as being pro-Russian.
‘Putin’s whole life revolves around war – he’s manipulating Trump and doesn’t want peace,’ ex-US aide warns
Fiona Hill, a national security adviser during Mr Trump’s first administration and an expert on Russia, regularly witnessed meetings between the two men.
In an exclusive interview with The Independent’s podcast World of Trouble, she reveals how Putin has “got Trump’s number” and feels able to mock the US president to his face, relying on the language barrier to cover his teasing.
Rubio and Witkoff are meeting with Ukraine’s negotiators in Florida as Trump pushes to broker a deal
Top Trump administration figures are meeting Ukrainian negotiators in Florida this weekend as Washington pushes to broker an end to Russia’s war, ahead of a pivotal round of talks expected in Moscow with Vladimir Putin later this week.
Secretary of state Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, are holding discussions with a Ukrainian delegation to refine a proposed peace framework.
Hours before the Florida meeting, president Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the resignation of his powerful chief of staff Andrii Yermak, who had been leading negotiations with the US.
His departure followed a search of his home by anti-corruption investigators, amid a scandal involving $100m allegedly embezzled from Ukraine’s energy sector, a controversy that has intensified domestic pressure on Zelensky.
Yermak had met Rubio in Geneva just a week earlier, with both sides calling those talks constructive.The newly configured Ukrainian team now includes Andrii Hnatov, commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces; foreign minister Andrii Sybiha; and security council chief Rustem Umerov.
Diplomats are working on revisions to Trump’s original 28-point peace proposal, which critics said was tilted toward Moscow — including provisions that envisaged Ukraine ceding the entire Donbas, limiting the size of its military and barring Nato membership. Trump has since described the plan as a “concept” or “map” that would need fine-tuning, but negotiators have not detailed what changes have been made.
Trump said this week he would send Witkoff and possibly Kushner to Moscow for direct talks with Putin.
Both men come from the deal-making world of real estate and previously helped craft the 20-point proposal that led to a Gaza ceasefire.
Rubio, Witkoff and Kushner to meet Ukrainian officials on Sunday, senior US official says
US secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff and US president Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner will meet Ukrainian officials today in Florida, a senior US official told Reuters.
A Ukrainian delegation is headed to the United States to continue talks on a deal to end the war.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said he expected that the results of previous meetings with the US in Geneva, which took place last weekend, would now be “hammered out” today.
South Africa arrests four men suspected of trying to join Russian military
South African police have detained four men at Johannesburg airport on suspicion of being recruited to fight for Russia. The group was stopped at the boarding gate on Friday as they prepared to travel via the UAE, police said.
The arrests come weeks after reports that 17 South African men were stranded in Ukraine, having allegedly been lured with promises of lucrative mercenary contracts.
South African law prohibits citizens from providing military assistance to foreign governments or joining foreign armies without authorisation.
The Hawks, South Africa’s elite police unit, said a tip-off led officers to the men, and that an initial investigation suggests a South African woman was facilitating their recruitment and travel to Russia.
The four are expected to appear in court on Monday for allegedly contravening the Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has ordered a probe into how the 17 men ended up fighting in Ukraine.
Ukrainian delegation in US for peace talks after lead negotiator’s exit
Ukrainian minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal delivered a report to the US delegation, president Volodymyr Zelensky said.
“It is time to update the fundamental defense documents of Ukraine, including the national defense plan. The course of hostilities has shown what must become the renewed priorities,” he said.
“We agreed that Denys will prepare detailed proposals for these changes and present them to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine for approval.”
Security council secretary Rustem Umerov was leading the delegation after the previous lead negotiator, Zelensky’s powerful chief of staff Andriy Yermak, resigned on Friday hours after anti-corruption detectives searched his apartment.
Zelensky has said Ukraine is in one of the most difficult moments in its history, but promised his people in a dramatic address last week that he would not betray the country.
Ukrainian naval drones hit two Russian ‘shadow fleet’ oil tankers
Ukrainian naval drones struck two sanctioned oil tankers in the Black Sea as they sailed towards a Russian port to collect crude bound for foreign markets, a Ukrainian security official said on Saturday – the latest effort by Kyiv to disrupt Moscow’s vast oil trade.
The vessels, identified as the Kairos and Virat, were empty and en route to Novorossiysk, a key Russian oil terminal, according to an official from Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) speaking to Reuters.
Video shared by the official shows naval drones racing towards the tankers before powerful blasts ignite fires on board.
“After the strikes, both tankers suffered critical damage and were effectively taken out of service. This will significantly hit Russia’s oil transportation,” the SBU official said in a written statement.
Ukraine has spent months targeting Russian oil refineries with long-range aerial drones, hitting infrastructure deep behind the front lines.
Striking tankers at sea marks a shift in Kyiv’s campaign, as it presses Western partners to act against Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” – hundreds of ageing, lightly regulated vessels that Ukraine says help Moscow evade sanctions and continue exporting oil to fund its war.
Moldova authorities say Russian drones entered airspace on Saturday
Moldovan authorities said on Saturday that Russian drones had entered the country’s airspace, posing a threat to aviation, in the third such incident in nine days.
President Maia Sandu, who wants to bring Moldova into the European Union by 2030, has denounced Russia’s war in Ukraine and accused Moscow of attempting to destabilise the ex-Soviet state, which lies between Ukraine and EU member Romania.
Moldova’s interior ministry said it had identified two drones as Russian and that they had flown over Moldovan territory, prompting the closure of its airspace.
They later flew into Ukrainian territory, it added.
“In the course of this incident, which posed a serious threat to flight safety, Moldova’s airspace was closed for an hour and 10 minutes from 22.43 to 23.53 (2043 to 2153 GMT) on the orders of the civil aviation authority,” it said.
At least six killed in attacks across Kyiv, officials say
At least six people have been killed and many injured after Russia launched an overnight attack on Ukraine, officials said.
Authorities were working to reconnect more than 400,000 households in Kyiv after strikes on the power grid.
Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said Russia was pushing a “war plan” of “killing and destroying”, even as international discussions on peace intensify.
Residents in Kyiv woke to shattered windows and charred build
ings after a night of heavy explosions that largely targeted the capital.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia fired around 36 missiles and nearly 600 drones in the latest wave.
Ukraine’s emergency services reported two deaths and 38 injuries in Kyiv, with regional authorities confirming one death outside the capital, two in Dnipropetrovsk, and one in a midday strike in Kherson.
The barrage comes as Ukraine endures one of its toughest periods of rolling blackouts since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Some neighbourhoods have been receiving as little as eight hours of electricity on the worst days, with generators now rumbling across the capital and many streets left in darkness at night.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said it carried out a “massive” strike on what it described as Ukrainian military-industrial and energy targets, framing the attack as retaliation for “terrorist acts”.
