Ukraine pushes for ‘a just peace’ as Zelensky moves to shore-up support

London: Ukraine is turning to European allies to hold the line against American pressure for a peace deal with Russia that cedes power and territory, as top negotiators meet in Miami with senior aides to US President Donald Trump.

Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov issued a positive message about the meeting in Florida on Sunday (3am on Monday, AEDT) after arriving for talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and presidential envoy Steve Witkoff.

Top officials (left-right) Oleg Ivashchenko, head of the foreign intelligence service, Andrii Hnatov, chief of the general staff, Vadym Skibitskyi, deputy chief to the head of the defence ontelligence and Rustem Umerov, secretary of the national security, are representing Ukraine at the Florida meeting.Credit: AP

At the same time, however, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky moved to shore up support from European leaders in a series of calls on Sunday after deep concerns last week about the peace terms favoured by the White House.

Zelensky will meet his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Monday.

But the Ukrainian side is under sustained pressure at home and abroad after a corruption scandal forced Zelensky to remove his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, who led the negotiations until Friday.

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Zelensky sent a new team, led by former defence minister Rustem Umerov, to Florida on Sunday to meet Rubio, Witkoff and the US president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

Umerov called the meeting a step towards a “just peace” in the war.

“We have clear directives and priorities: safeguarding Ukrainian interests, ensuring substantive dialogue, and advancing on the basis of the progress achieved in Geneva,” he posted on social media after the talks.

“We are working to secure real peace for Ukraine and reliable, long-term security guarantees.”

The talks in Miami will be followed by negotiations with the Kremlin, with Witkoff and Kushner flying to Russia within days to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and his advisers.

Umerov is seen as a trusted aide to Zelensky after serving as defence minister from September 2023 to July 2025, when he stepped aside to become Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council.

He was joined in Miami by Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha and the head of Ukraine’s armed forces, Andrii Hnatov.

The corruption scandal, centred on alleged kickbacks in the energy industry, has led to weeks of turmoil in the government, including the resignations of Justice Minister German Galushchenko and Energy Minister Svitlana Grynchuk on November 12.

Renewed push for peace

Investigators have claimed that financial wrongdoing was led by Timur Mindich, a television executive who co-founded a production house with Zelensky when the president was a television star before entering politics. Mindich is said to have fled to Israel.

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In a bid to restore stability to his government, Zelensky announced on Sunday that Oksana Markarova, a former ambassador to Washington, would become his adviser on reconstruction and investment.

While the Trump aides are talking to Ukraine and Russia this week, European leaders have pushed back at proposals in the peace plan drafted by Witkoff in recent weeks, which included the rapid removal of sanctions on Putin and his government.

Witkoff is seen as too close to the Russian side and is being tarnished by media leaks and detailed press attention. Bloomberg revealed the transcript of a private conversation he had with a top Russian negotiator, painting him as favouring Russia, and The Wall Street Journal published a detailed investigation into how Trump allies have pursued business opportunities with Russia.

‘Peace is within reach, if Vladimir Putin abandons his delusional hope of reconstituting the Soviet empire’.

The exposure has fuelled the suspicion that the Trump negotiator is seeking to restore economic ties between the US and Russia – and possibly help the president’s friends – at the cost of security for Ukraine.

In one quote in the Journal article, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk questioned the motivations behind the US agenda, saying: “We know this is not about peace. It’s about business.”

While the original 28-point peace plan has been replaced in negotiations with the US and European leaders, there is no public draft with agreed positions.

Zelensky spoke on Sunday with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.

Zelensky (left) is set to meet French leader Emmanuel Macron again on Monday.Credit: AP

He will go to Paris on Monday (late on Monday, AEDT) to talk to Macron, another advocate of a peace proposal that avoids any weakening of Ukrainian defences.

Ahead of that meeting, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Sunday there was a chance of an agreement, but only if Putin accepted Ukraine’s independence.

“Peace is within reach, if Vladimir Putin abandons his delusional hope of reconstituting the Soviet Empire by first subjugating Ukraine,” he said.

“Vladimir Putin must accept the ceasefire or accept exposing Russia to new sanctions that will exhaust its economy, as well as intensified European support for Ukraine.”

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