7.12.2025
Three days of negotiations between Ukrainian and US officials in Miami ended with a positive tone, but produced no evident breakthrough, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy prepares to meet European leaders for peace talks on December 8.
Hours after Zelenskyy said he had a “very constructive” phone call with the US negotiating team — led by special envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner — Russia continued its overnight air strikes on key Ukrainian infrastructure as winter temperatures continue to fall.
The mayor of the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk, which is a key industrial hub home to one of Ukraine’s biggest oil refineries, said that his city suffered a “massive” attack that caused power and water damage. No deaths have been confirmed so far. Russian strikes also hit the eastern Ukrainian city of Slovyansk, injuring seven people and damaging multiple buildings.
Overnight strikes have continued even as efforts to negotiate an end to the war have intensified, with Russia saying it shot down 77 Ukrainian drones in several locations overnight.
Following the talks in Florida, Zelenskyy said on Telegram that “Ukraine is committed to continuing to work honestly with the American side to bring about real peace,” adding that the parties agreed on the next steps and a format for talks, without disclosing further details.
Zelenskyy will next turn to European allies when he visits London on December 8 to discuss the peace process with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
“Ukraine can count on our unwavering support. That is the whole point of the efforts we have undertaken as part of the Coalition of the Willing,” Macron said on X on December 6 ahead of the meeting.
The French president said the group would “take stock” of peace negotiations. Europe has pushed back against early versions of the US-led peace plan and has sought to win support from Washington for its own proposals.
Macron, Merz, Starmer, and Zelenskyy took part in a virtual meeting of the “coalition of the willing” about two weeks ago, where they discussed plans to put a European peacekeeping force in Ukraine in the event of a cease-fire. RFE reports