Overview
- President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the dates and said Ukraine is ready for substantive negotiations to move toward a dignified end to the war.
- U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will not participate in the upcoming round.
- Rubio said the territorial issue remains unresolved as Russia is demanding Ukrainian troop withdrawals from parts of Donetsk region not under Russian control.
- Zelensky stated that Ukraine’s position on territory has not changed and that bilateral U.S. security guarantees are “100%” prepared pending signature.
- Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War report the Kremlin rejects Western security guarantees for Ukraine and signals adherence to maximalist war aims.