Ukrainian Delegates Travel to US to Resume Peace Talks

Ukraine replaced its lead negotiator after he stepped down amid a major corruption scandal.

U.S. (left) and Ukrainian (right) delegations at the beginning of their talks at the U.S. Permanent Mission in Geneva, Switzerland, on Nov. 23, 2025. Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP

The United States is showing “a constructive approach” in peace negotiations, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said as delegates from Kyiv travel to America to resume talks.

The Ukrainian delegation is led by National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov and Military Intelligence Chief Kyrylo Budanov. They departed for the United States on Nov. 29 to continue discussions on the latest U.S.-backed peace proposal to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

The discussions will build on the recent negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland, where U.S., Ukrainian, and European representatives worked to revise a 28-point peace plan. The original proposal called on Ukraine to make territorial concessions, limit the size of its military, and abandon its bid for NATO membership. In exchange, Russia would receive phased sanctions relief, while portions of its frozen assets would be redirected toward Ukraine’s reconstruction.

The U.S. delegation in Geneva included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Army Secretary Daniel P. Driscoll, President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Julie Davis, and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.

It is not yet clear whether all of them will also take part in the upcoming talks in the United States. Reuters, citing a senior Trump administration official, reported that Rubio, Witkoff, and Kushner are expected to meet the Ukrainian team in Florida. The Epoch Times has reached out to the White House for confirmation.

Both Washington and Kyiv have described the negotiations so far as productive. The White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said there are “a few delicate, but not insurmountable, details that must be sorted out,” while Zelenskyy spoke optimistically, saying “President Trump’s team is hearing us.”

In his evening address on Nov. 29, Zelenskyy again expressed optimism that diplomacy could bring the war—now in its fourth year—to an end.

“Diplomacy remains active. The American side is demonstrating a constructive approach, and in the coming days, it is feasible to flesh out the steps to determine how to bring the war to a dignified end,” he said, according to the state news agency Ukrinform.

“The Ukrainian delegation has the necessary directives, and I expect the guys to work in accordance with clear Ukrainian priorities,” he said.

The talks come as Zelenskyy’s government is shaken by a corruption scandal. Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies recently alleged that several of the president’s close associates were involved in a scheme to siphon funds from state-owned energy companies even as large parts of the country continue to endure lengthy blackouts amid Russian strikes.

Umerov is now heading the peace delegation after Andriy Yermak, Zelenskyy’s chief of staff and the previous lead negotiator, resigned on Nov. 28 shortly after anti-corruption investigators searched his house.

Two other high-ranking officials implicated in the corruption scandal, Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko and Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk, were fired on Nov. 19 after they submitted their resignation letters.

Russia, meanwhile, has shown little interest in signing a peace deal with Zelenskyy, whom Russian President Vladimir Putin said had outlived his mandate because Ukraine suspended the 2024 presidential election.

“Signing documents with the Ukrainian leadership is pointless,” Putin said on Nov. 27, reported state-owned news agency TASS. “I believe that the Ukrainian authorities made a fundamental and strategic mistake when they succumbed to the fear of participating in the presidential elections. As a result, the president lost his legitimate status.”