Ukraine peace talks in Miami proceeding ‘constructively,’ Russian envoy says
LONDON — U.S. negotiators proposed a potential new format for peace talks between Ukraine and Russia during the latest round of talks in Florida, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday, in which American and possibly European envoys may also participate.
“The U.S. said they would have a separate meeting with representatives of Russia,” Zelenskyy told reporters in Kyiv after meeting with Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro.
“They proposed the following format, as far as I understand: Ukraine, America, Russia, and, since there are representatives of Europe there, probably Europe as well,” Zelenskyy said.
U.S. negotiators met with Russian officials in Florida on Saturday, with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s envoy Kirill Dmitriev — who also serves as the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund — having arrived in Miami for the negotiations.
Dmitriev later told reporters that talks are expected to continue into Sunday. “Discussions are being held constructively,” Dmitriev said, as quoted by Russia’s state-run Tass news agency.
A police officer works at the site of a Russian airstrike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on Dec. 19, 2025.
Stringer/Reuters
Ukrainian and European representatives held a round of discussions with American counterparts in the U.S. on Friday and agreed to resume contacts soon, chief Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov said.
Despite the renewed negotiating push, Putin gave no indication he was willing to compromise on Moscow’s war goals at his annual end-of-year press conference on Friday. “The ball is entirely in our Western opponents’ court,” Putin said.
Putin said peace was only possible on the basis of “principles” he outlined in a speech last year, in which he made some of his most hardline demands — Ukraine’s permanent exclusion from NATO and Kyiv’s withdrawal from all of the territory Russia claims in eastern and southeastern Ukraine.
Putin again claimed that military momentum was with Moscow’s forces, saying its troops were “advancing on all fronts.”
The Russian leader also again praised Trump and criticized European nations. Putin said Russia would take no military action against European states provided they treat Moscow “with respect.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin holds his annual end-of-year press conference in Moscow, December 19, 2025.
Alexander Nemenov/Pool via Reuters
As negotiators met in Miami, Russia and Ukraine continued to exchange long-range strikes into the early hours of Sunday.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 97 drones into the country overnight, of which 75 were shot down or suppressed. Nineteen drones impacted across eight locations, the air force said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its forces downed at least three Ukrainian drones overnight into Sunday morning.
ABC News’ Patrick Reevell, Dada Jovanovic, Ian Pannell, Fidel Pavlenko and Emily Chang contributed to this report.