The last 24 hours have seen a flurry of activity, diplomatic and military, as U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff prepares to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday afternoon, Dec. 2, along with Trump’s representative jared Kushner. It had been widely reported, usually sourced to an unnamed U.S. senior official, that the matters of territory and of an election had not been accepted by Kiev, and were on the U.S. agenda for the Nov. 30 meeting in Florida between Ukraine and the United States.
A four-hour discussion was held Sunday at a golf club developed by Witkoff, the Shell Bay Club in Hallandale Beach, Florida, with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Jared Kushner also present, and with a large Ukrainian delegation, headed by NSDC (National Security and Defense Council) head Rustem Umerov and including the head of Ukraine’s armed forces Maj. Gen. Andrii Hnatov, Deputy Foreign Minister Serhii Kyslytsia, Ambassador to the U.S. Olha Stefanishyna, and “presidential adviser” Oleksandr Bevz. The last was close to Kiev’s top negotiator of a week ago, Andriy Yermak, who since has been forced out of office due to the corruption scandal.
At a media briefing by Rubio and Umerov, Rubio talked at some length about how productive the session was, while scrupulously avoiding discussing the lack of any progress on territory or elections. Typical was: “It’s not just about the terms that ends fighting. It’s about also the terms that set up Ukraine for long-term prosperity.... The end goal is, obviously, not just the end of the war. But it’s also about securing an end to the war that leaves Ukraine sovereign and independent and with an opportunity at real prosperity.”
So, it wasn’t that surprising that, on the morning of Dec. 1, Umerov and Witkoff met again, which included a five-way phone call with Ukraine’s acting president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, France’s President Emmanuel Macron, and the U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Zelenskyy reported: “Just now, together with Emmanuel Macron—Keir Starmer was also on the line—we spoke with Rustem Umerov and Steve Witkoff following the talks in Florida.” After the five-way call, Zelenskyy, Macron, and Starmer reported back to the larger Coalition of the Willing bloc of leaders of several nations, plus NATO and the EU.
It was notable today that Zelenskyy was still talking about seeing U.S. Pres. Donald Trump: “We are expecting a conversation with the president of the United States on key issues that are quite challenging,” even though last week, Trump had slapped down Zelenskyy’s previous assertion that a key meeting between the two was imminent. Also, on Dec. 1 there was a short-lived rumor that Zelenskyy would get a personal visit on Dec. 2 in Ireland from Witkoff, but those reports have proven specious.
Much is not known, but it is not to be doubted that a long-awaited public recognition in Kiev that four regions seceded three years ago, voted to join Russia, and are largely under Russian military protection is “quite challenging,” as is the matter of an open election in Ukraine. Plus, over the last 24 hours, the fall of Pokrovsk and other losses won’t improve Zelensky’s popularity in Ukraine.
