US and Ukraine to hold working talks in Miami on new Russia peace proposals

Talks set for Miami

US and Ukrainian officials are scheduled to meet in Miami, Florida, on Friday, 9 October, for working-level talks on new ideas to end the war with Russia. Reuters reports that Ukrainian negotiators would hold talks in the United States on Friday and Saturday, while Axios, as cited by Mediafax, describes a two-day format. Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the US envoys, will lead the American side, and representatives from the White House National Security Council and the US Treasury Department will also attend. Kyrylo Budanov, Rustem Umerov and David Arakhamia are expected to represent Ukraine, with Arakhamia described by Irish Independent as the top negotiator.

Agenda and European role

According to an American source, the discussions will cover new ideas and proposals that US negotiators began developing with Russian and Ukrainian sides during a recent visit to the region. Security guarantees for Ukraine against a renewed Russian invasion after any peace settlement are expected to be discussed, along with a post-war prosperity plan. The United Kingdom, France and Germany have invited their national security advisers, and officials from NATO and the European Union have also been invited. Zelensky said he expects European partners to join the talks with the US in the coming days. The source said Europeans plan to tell Washington about their frustration with high energy prices and other large economic costs of the war. Axios, citing US and Ukrainian officials, reported that one option under discussion is a partial armistice covering attacks on energy infrastructure and grain transport.

Pressure from Russian strikes

Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv that near-constant Russian attacks mean Ukrainian negotiators will discuss strengthening air defences. Reuters reports that more than 70 people have been killed in Russian strikes over the past two days, while RTE reports 80 killed and more than 200 injured in air attacks across Ukraine over the same period. Deutsche Welle reports that a Russian strike on a bus in Kramatorsk killed 30 civilians, and that a missile hit a five-storey apartment building in Chernihiv, killing 22 people including five children. Zelensky also said Ukraine had mirrored Russian attacks on data centres, referring to a strike on a centre operated by the Russian company Yandex.

We always respond in mirror-like fashion.

Yandex said on Thursday that it could not yet determine whether equipment at a data centre hit by a Ukrainian drone attack could be restored. Deutsche Welle also reports that Zelensky has asked Washington to open Starlink access for Ukraine so it can target Russian ballistic missile launchers.

Diplomatic backdrop

Rubio said earlier on Thursday that the conflict was at a dangerous stalemate. Trump said this week that he planned to speak with Vladimir Putin by phone soon. Irish Independent reports that Trump's efforts have so far not succeeded and that he has been trying to arrange trilateral talks between Russia, the US and Ukraine. Axios reports that Trump's envoys could return to Moscow toward the end of October for new talks with Putin. According to Mediafax, Washington wants diplomatic progress before the US midterm elections and before winter arrives in Ukraine, and a US source told Axios that a tough winter lies ahead if the war does not stop.

What comes next

The Miami sessions are scheduled for Friday, with a possible second day on Saturday, and no outcome has been announced yet. The timeline below shows the steps reported so far, from Zelensky's confirmation on 8 October to a possible return of US envoys to Moscow in late October.

The US side is trying to produce a single joint proposal that both Ukraine and the Europeans can support, according to the American source.