Ukraine updates: Rubio says more work to be done after talks

President Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that there was a "good chance" of a Russia-Ukraine deal, following the latest US-Ukraine talks in Florida.

Trump also said "Ukraine's got some difficult problems," after a top aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy resigned after anti-corruption police raided his home on Friday.

Andriy Yermak, who was Zelenskyy's trusted right-hand man, was Kyiv's top peace negotiator. He was a fixture in talks to end Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

When pressed for clarity on "difficult problems," Trump said the allegations of corruption among senior political and business figures in Ukraine were "not helpful." 

Following a meeting in Florida, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that talks with Ukrainian officials were "productive," though more work is required to broker a peace agreement between Kyiv and Moscow.

He reiterated comments made at the beginning of the talks, which lasted more than four hours, saying that the discussions were not just focused on a ceasefire, but also on long-term prosperity for Ukraine.

"I think we built on that today, but there's more work to be done," Rubio said.

"There are a lot of moving parts, and obviously there's another party involved here that will have to be a part of the equation, and that will continue later this week, when Mr. Witkoff travels to Moscow, although we've also been in touch in varying degrees with the Russian side, but we have a pretty good understanding of their views as well," he told reporters.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's security council secretary Rustem Umerov, who led Kyiv's delegation, hailed the negotiations in Florida as "productive and successful."

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has said he sees the ongoing peace efforts in Ukraine's war with quiet confidence.

Speaking on the ARD program Bericht aus Berlin, Wadephul said he believes the negotiations for a ceasefire are entering a "decisive week."

"I am cautiously optimistic that there is now a real chance of a ceasefire and that negotiations can take place on an equal footing," he said.

However, the foreign minister went on to say that although Ukraine was willing to end the war, Russia was not willing to negotiate.

"The situation is such that Ukraine is constantly saying that it is prepared to accept a ceasefire and prepared to
negotiate," he said. "The only one missing is (Russian President) Vladimir Putin. He continues to shoot and bomb."

While the Ukrainian delegation is meeting with US officials in Florida, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shared on social media that he held phone calls with Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and Mark Rutte, Secretary General of NATO.  

Zelenskyy said both calls centered on an allignment of thoughts on the current Russian invasion of Ukraine and the continued support of European allies for his country.

Referring to von der Leyen, he added: "It also matters that Ursula is paying close attention to the need to strengthen our resilience amid Russia’s constant strikes on our infrastructure and the energy sector." 

Following the news of Donald Trump's 28-point plan, European leaders held a meeting in Geneva on November 23, revising the plan down to 19 points.

Some of the key changes reported included dropping the previous cap on the size of Ukraine’s armed forces.

Additionally, a proposal for a blanket amnesty for wartime acts, which could have shielded war crimes from prosecution, was removed.

However, the most sensitive issues — territorial settlement, Ukraine's possible membership in NATO and foreign troop presence — were left unresolved. Those were reportedly to be deferred for decision at the level of heads of state (i.e. between the presidents). 

As the talks continue in Florida, the delegations are discussing parts of plans that were previously put forward.

One of those plans is the 28-point plan proposed by the team of US President Donald Trump, which, among other things, controversially included Ukraine conceding territories, such as Crimea and the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk (the Donbas), even those parts still under Ukrainian control.

Meanwhile, some areas of Donetsk were planned to become demilitarized buffer zone under Russian control.

The plan would also entail freezing the frontlines in the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, which would effectively leave Russia in control of the occupied areas for the time being.

Ukraine would be prohibited from joining NATO and the alliance would agree never to admit Ukraine, while Kyiv's armed forces would be limited to a maximum of 600,000 personnel. 

In exchange for these concessions, Ukraine and its allies would receive "security guarantees," though no details were provided regarding what these guarantees would entail.

The plan also included an economic reconstruction scheme: some frozen Russian assets would be used to rebuild Ukraine. Russia might gradually be reintegrated into the global economy, which could include potential sanctions relief, economic cooperation, and a return to forums like the G8.

Kyiv and its European allies criticized that plan for being too weighted toward Russian demands.

Talks between US and Ukrainian officials in Florida aimed at ending Russia's war with Ukraine have gotten off to a "good start" and are taking place in a "warm atmosphere," according to Ukraine's first deputy foreign minister.

"It’s been a good start of the ongoing meeting. Very engaging and so far constructive," Sergiy Kyslytsya wrote on X, praising US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's "great leadership."

Ukraine's delegation is being led by a new chief negotiator, national security council secretary Rustem Umerov, following the resignation of Andriy Yermak.

Yermak was Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's chief of staff but resigned this week amid a corruption scandal.

In Florida, Umerov reiterated that his country must remain sovereign. Then, he thanked US officials for their efforts and said in English, "The US is hearing us. The US is supporting us. The US is walking beside us."

Separately, he posted on X that he is in constant contact with Ukraine's president. "We are working to secure real peace for Ukraine and reliable, long-term security guarantees," Umerov added. 

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff have began their meeting with a delegation from Ukraine, as they continue to push for an end to the war with Russia.

As the talks began, DW's Misha Komadovsky was in Florida, covering the meeting. He witnessed Rubio acknowledge that Ukraine must remain independent.

"We want to see the end of the killing and the death and the suffering, and the Ukrainian side, I know they do as well," he said. 

"They want peace, but it's also about securing an end to the war that leaves Ukraine sovereign and independent and with an opportunity, real prosperity," Rubio added.

The Secretary of State went on to express that the purpose was not just to bring an end to war but to ensure that another invasion does not occur in the future.

Rubio added everyone wanted to "create tremendous prosperity for its people, not just rebuild the country, but to enter an era of extraordinary economic progress."

"Ukraine has tremendous economic potential," he said.

Russia continued its nightly drone and missile onslaught of civilian targets in Ukraine on Saturday, hammering residential buildings in Kyiv. 

Though there are conflicting casualty reports, between one and three people were killed in the assault, and between 11 and 29 were injured.

Kyiv Regional Governor Mykola Kalashnyk reported "another enemy drone attack" and said rescuers were evacuating residents from a high-rise building, adding that firefighting was ongoing.

"Unfortunately, as a result of the enemy attack on Vyshgorod, one person was killed and 11 were wounded. Among them, a child," Kalashnyk wrote on Telegram.

The Kyiv City Military Administration reported two people killed in the strikes, adding that a third victim, a woman, later died from injuries.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko claimed that 29 people had been injured in the attack, adding that debris from intercepted Russian drones had slammed into residential buildings in the capital.

Similar attacks on Friday killed three and left roughly half a million people across Ukraine without power.

French President Emmanuel Macron will welcome Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Paris on Monday where the two will discuss international efforts to end Russia's war of aggression against his country.

On Saturday, Macron's office said the two would discuss, "the conditions for a just and lasting peace" in Ukraine.

"We will welcome President Zelensky to Paris on Monday to move the negotiations forward," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said in comments to the La Tribune Dimanche newspaper. "Peace is within reach, if (Russian President) Vladimir Putin abandons his delusional hope of reconstituting the Soviet Empire by first subjugating Ukraine."

As European and Ukrainian leaders fear the US may abandon the effort to save Ukraine, Barrot threatened the Kremlin, saying: "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."

Kazakhstan reacted angrily to Ukraine's recent targeting of a Black Sea oil terminal at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), an international operation run by Kazakh, Russian and US shareholders.

Ukrainian Sea Baby drones this weekend attacked a Russian mooring at the CPC — which handles about 1% of global oil, but 80% of Kazakhstan's — severely damaging it.

The CPC said that a November 29 naval drone attack on the terminal had "significantly damaged" Single-Point Mooring (SPM) 2 — a floating buoy that connects to tankers to load oil.

"Further operation of Single Point Mooring 2 is not possible," the CPC said. "Loading operations and other operations were stopped [and] tankers were withdrawn from the CPC water area."

"We believe that the attack on the CPC is an attack on the interests of the CPC member countries."

Kazakhstan said the attacks were the third on what it called, "an exclusively civilian facility whose operation is safeguarded by norms of international law."

Kazakhstan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement, "We view what has occurred as an action harming the bilateral relations of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Ukraine, and we expect the Ukrainian side to take effective measures to prevent similar incidents in the future."

Top Ukrainian diplomats are in Florida for meetings with US officials on Sunday in the run-up to US-Russian meetings scheduled to take place in the coming days.

US President Donald Trump — who promised to end Vladimir Putin's nearly four-year war of aggression on the day he took office in January — has said he wants the war to end now and has begun to signal that he may recognize partially-occupied Ukrainian territory in Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk as Russian, leaving Ukraine and Europe to decide whether to continue Ukraine's defense or cede to Russian and US demands.

That territorial recognition was part of an original 28-point plan floated by Trump. Sunday's talks will address a revised 19-point plan drawn up after Kyiv and Europe voiced serious concerns about Trump's roadmap. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that his team was en route to Florida in a post to X on Saturday evening.

Notably absent from the meeting will be Andrii Yermak, who had been the country's lead negotiator in talks with the US until he resigned his post as Zelenskyy's chief of staff on Friday amid a corruption probe. 

The Ukrainian delegation now includes Armed Forces Chief Andrii Hnatov, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, and Security Council Secretary Rustem Umerov.

Beyond the grueling frontline battles raging as Ukraine fights for its survival, Russia has continued to carry out deadly overnight drone and missile assaults as it drags on talks; targeting civilian infrastructure and killing and injuring non-combatant men, women and children on a daily basis.

Thanks for joining us this Sunday for the latest news regarding Russia's ongoing invasion in Ukraine.

Today's coverage will begin with Ukrainian negotiators traveling to Florida to meet with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff and presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner before the Americans meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin next week.

As Europe frets US President Trump is ready to reward Putin's aggression — by recognizing partially-occupied Ukrainian territory in Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk as Russian — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to travel to Paris on Monday for direct consultations with French President Macron.

Elsewhere, we'll look at the impact that Ukraine's underwater drone attacks have had on Russian oil transports.

Stay tuned for the latest coverage throughout the day.