Rubio Says ‘Much Work’ to Be Done After Talks With Ukrainian Officials

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other U.S. officials met with a Ukrainian delegation that was without Andriy Yermak, who resigned as chief of staff to Ukraine’s president on Friday.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio emerged from talks with Ukrainian officials in Florida on Sunday to say that there was still “much work to do” on a proposal to end the war with Russia.

Missing from the Ukrainian group was Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s right-hand man and chief of staff who resigned on Friday amid a corruption investigation. Mr. Yermak had served as lead negotiator in recent talks with American officials.

Neither Mr. Rubio nor Rustem Umerov, who led the Ukrainian delegation after Mr. Yermak’s resignation, revealed details of the discussions, although both described the talks as productive. Steve Witkoff, a special envoy for President Trump, plans to travel to Moscow on Monday to meet President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, according to a U.S. official.

Mr. Zelensky said on Sunday evening that he had received a preliminary report from the delegation in Florida. “It is important that the talks have a constructive dynamic and that all issues were discussed openly and with a clear focus on ensuring Ukraine’s sovereignty and national interests,” he wrote on X, thanking the Trump administration “for the time that is being invested so intensively.”

Ukrainian officials have insisted that the dynamics of the discussions would not fundamentally change, even though Mr. Yermak had played a central role and was replaced in Florida by Mr. Umerov, the head of the National Security and Defense Council.

Last week, Mr. Yermak negotiated to soften a draft proposal to end the war from the Trump administration, whose 28 points largely reflected Russian demands. These included withdrawing from territory in eastern Ukraine, forgoing NATO membership and ruling out a postwar Western peacekeeping force for Ukraine.

The proposal included a promise of security guarantees to prevent another Russian invasion that would be enforced in part by the United States, but without detailing the level of commitment to Ukraine’s defense.

With Ukraine facing pressure on the battlefield and from the White House, the continued involvement of Mr. Yermak — whose home was raided by investigators on Friday — was seen by some Ukrainians as a potential distraction in negotiations.

His departure helped ease worries in Ukraine that Russia or the United States might use the $100 million embezzlement scandal as leverage to push Kyiv to make painful concessions in talks.

Shawn McCreesh and Edward Wong contributed reporting.

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