Ukraine's top negotiator heads to US for talks with Witkoff as peace stalls
Secretary of National Security and Defense Council (photo: Getty Images)
Ukraine's chief negotiator, Rustem Umerov, is set to travel to Miami this week for a meeting with the US special envoy Steve Witkoff. Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine have reached a deadlock, with the sides' positions on the Donetsk region remaining incompatible, Bloomberg reports.
Talks at a deadlock
Moscow is demanding the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Donetsk region. Kyiv insists it will not concede any territory under its control and will not recognize illegally occupied lands.
Previous rounds of negotiations achieved some progress on many issues, but the status of the Donetsk region and the details of security guarantees for Ukraine remain the main stumbling blocks.
Kyiv had hoped that Steve Witkoff, together with Jared Kushner, would visit Ukraine, but this is now in question. Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that both were invited, but no confirmation has been received from them.
Background: Corruption scandal
Rustem Umerov's trip is taking place amid a high-profile corruption scandal. Last week, Ukrainska Pravda (Ukrainian news outlet) published recordings of conversations involving several of Zelenskyy's associates, including Umerov.
The Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament) summoned him for questioning, but the National Security and Defense Council reported that he cannot appear due to a foreign trip. Umerov's press service said the authenticity of the recordings should be verified by competent authorities.
Situation on the frontline
This week, Kyiv proposed a ceasefire to Moscow, but the Russian army continued attacks throughout Wednesday. Tensions are rising ahead of May 9 — Vladimir Putin unilaterally announced a ceasefire for the duration of the parade in Moscow.
Peace talks have taken a back seat due to the US-Iran conflict, which triggered a sharp rise in global energy prices.
Putin unilaterally declared a ceasefire for May 8–9 to mark Victory Day. At the same time, Russia threatened a massive missile strike on central Kyiv if the celebrations are disrupted by attacks.
In response, Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced a ceasefire regime starting from 00:00 on May 6. However, during the night and morning of the same day, Russian forces attacked several Ukrainian cities, violating their own initiative. Fighting on the frontline also did not stop.
Zelenskyy stated that Russia had violated the ceasefire and announced that further steps would be determined based on reports from the military and intelligence.
