Ukraine negotiators to hold talks in US on plan to end war

KYIV, December 1 ------ Ukrainian negotiators are due to hold talks in the United States on Washington’s plan to end the war with Russia, with Kyiv facing pressure on both the military and political fronts. As Russia advances on the front line, its forces targeted Ukraine’s capital and the region for two nights in a row ahead of the talks in the US.

A drone attack in the outskirts of Kyiv killed one person and wounded 11 on Saturday night, the regional governor said. Hours earlier, a Ukrainian security source said Kyiv was responsible for attacks on two oil tankers in the Black Sea that it believed were covertly transporting sanctioned Russian oil.

The US talks come amid turbulence for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his government — a blockbuster corruption probe forced him to sack his chief of staff and top negotiator, Andriy Yermak, on Friday. The Ukraine team — now led by Rustem Umerov — is due to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff in Florida on Sunday, a US official said.

Washington has put forward a plan to end the more than three-year conflict that it is seeking to finalize with Moscow and Kyiv’s approval. An initial 28-point proposal — drafted without input from Ukraine’s European allies — would have seen Kyiv withdraw from its eastern Donetsk region, and the United States de facto recognize the Donetsk, Crimea, and Luhansk regions as Russian.

Source: manilatimes.net