Umerov will lead the negotiations in the U.S. Kiev changes team after Yermak's resignation

A high-ranking delegation of the Ukrainian government travelled to the United States on Sunday for talks with the American side on a proposed peace plan to end the war against Russia.

Rustem Umerov: The Ukrainian delegation is already on its way to the United States - to continue work on agreeing on further steps to achieve a just and sustainable peace.

In the morning I was in touch with the President of Ukraine: I reported on the state of preparation, key positions and expected results of the next stage of negotiations. In the United States of America, we will continue to harmonise all the developments that were formed during the meetings in Geneva.

Ukraine continues systematic and constructive diplomatic work for the sake of a decent peace.

Earlier, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in X that the Ukrainian delegation would be headed by the secretary of the National Security and Defence Council, Rustem Umerov.

His appointment followed after Zelensky fired the head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak on Friday - shortly after the search in Yermak's house conducted by anti-corruption authorities.

We shall remind you that Yermak was Kiev's key negotiator with Western partners and was considered one of the most influential people in the Ukrainian government.

According to Zelenskyy, the delegation's task is to "quickly and substantially work out the steps needed to end the war". He emphasised that Ukraine continues to work with the USA as constructively as possible.

Ukrainian representatives are expected to meet in Florida with US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, Politico writes.

According to media reports, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will also take part in the talks.

Witkoff found himself at the centre of a scandal after the publication of a transcript that suggests he advised a senior Kremlin official on how to line up talks with Trump. The special envoy is expected to travel to Moscow next week to speak with Russian officials.

The talks in Florida will be a continuation of contacts following meetings in Geneva, where the Trump administration's proposed 28-point peace plan was discussed. This document has already been criticised in Ukraine and a number of European capitals as excessively favourable to Russia. The original version envisaged significant territorial concessions on the part of Ukraine, including a part of Donbas, as well as restrictions on the size and capabilities of the Ukrainian army. At the same time, Trump said that the proposal was not "final" and allowed for further negotiations.

In addition to Umerov, the Ukrainian delegation included the head of military intelligence Kirill Budanov and the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Andriy Hnatov.

Amid preparations for the talks, Russian troops attacked the Ukrainian capital.

On Saturday night, Kiev was hit by a new combined attack of drones and missiles. At least 3 people died and 30 others were wounded. On Sunday night, a Russian drone struck a residential high-rise building in Vyshgorod near Kiev. One person was killed about 20 people were injured.

Meanwhile, two tankers from the so-called Russian "shadow fleet", which is used to circumvent sanctions, were damaged in the waters of the Black Sea off the coast of Turkey. We are talking about the vessels Kairos and Virat. According to Turkish media, they were struck at short intervals on Friday evening, necessitating a salvage operation.

Turkey's Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uralooglu said it was first reported that the Kairos might have been hit by a mine, and then it became known about the explosion on the Virat. According to him, we are tentatively talking about an "external impact" - it could be a mine, a missile, an unmanned boat or a drone, but there is no exact information yet.