Says Trump after Florida talks; four killed, 40 hurt in Russian strike on Ukraine’s Dnipro
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in Paris yesterday, seeking to shore up European support as US President Donald Trump expressed optimism of a deal to end Russia's war in Ukraine.
US and Ukrainian negotiators held hours of what both sides called "productive" talks in Florida on Sunday on a plan Washington wants to form the basis of a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
The diplomatic flurry after nearly four years of conflict comes as Kyiv battles military pressure and reels from a domestic corruption scandal that forced Zelensky to remove his close aide and top negotiator.
Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff was due in Moscow for follow-up talks and is expected to discuss Ukraine with Putin today. The Florida talks were described by both Ukrainian and American negotiators as "productive" but US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said more work was required and a source in Kyiv's delegation called the talks "not easy".
Trump was optimistic, however, telling reporters aboard Air Force One: "I think that there's a good chance we can make a deal."
He also referred to political turbulence in Kyiv which saw Zelensky last week remove Andriy Yermak, his chief of staff and top negotiator throughout the conflict, after a corruption scandal in the energy sector that has troubled Western allies. "Ukraine's got some difficult little problems," Trump said.
Washington put forward an initial 28-point proposal to halt the war, drafted without input from Ukraine's European allies and regarded as too close a reflection of Moscow's maximalist demands on Ukrainian territory.
It would have seen Kyiv withdraw from its eastern Donetsk region and the United States de facto recognise the Donetsk, Crimea and Lugansk regions as Russian. Rubio told reporters the Florida talks were "very productive" but "there's more work to be done".
Meanwhile, four people were killed and 40 wounded in a Russian missile attack on the eastern-central Ukrainian city of Dnipro yesterday. Vladyslav Haivanenko, acting governor of Dnipropetrovsk region, said 11 of those injured in the strike were in a serious condition.
