Overview
- Ukraine’s ambassador and an FBI official confirmed Rustem Umierov met privately with FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino in recent weeks.
- The FBI said the talks focused on shared law enforcement and national-security interests, noting corruption in Ukraine surfaced at one meeting but was not the main topic.
- Reporting indicates Umierov also flew to Miami at least three times to confer with President Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on a possible path to end the war.
- Western officials remain uneasy about the meetings’ intent, with some suggesting they could be used to seek legal protections or to build pressure for a peace deal requiring major concessions.
- A White House official said Trump’s national security team is engaging both Russians and Ukrainians to facilitate an agreement and dismissed criticism of the FBI contacts.