01/17/2026, 06:2601/17/2026, 06:26
Negotiations between the USA and Ukraine to end the Russian war of aggression are to continue today in Miami, Florida. According to Ukrainian information, the main focus will be on security guarantees and the long-term economic development of the Eastern European country. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned of new massive Russian air strikes against the background of a cold wave and massive problems with energy supplies.
Donald Trump and Volodymyr ZelenskyImage: keystone
Washington has been trying to broker a peace agreement between the war opponents for weeks. However, when it comes to fundamental questions such as Ukraine’s possible NATO membership and Russian territorial claims, the positions of Moscow and Kiev are far apart. Russia has so far insisted on its maximum demands, which amount to the subjugation of Ukraine.
Most recently, US President Trump again accused Zelensky of holding up the peace talks. Zelenskyj repeatedly calls for increasing pressure on Russia in order to get Moscow to make concessions. He recently announced that a bilateral document with the USA on security guarantees for his country was “basically ready” to be finalized at the highest level with Trump.
Agreement with a volume of 690 billion euros
The Ukrainian ambassador to Washington, Olha Stefanischyna, wrote on Facebook that today’s meeting with US representatives should work on agreements on security guarantees and the “economic prosperity of Ukraine” with a total volume of up to 690 billion euros. If things go well, a signing could take place next week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
According to her, the Ukrainian delegation includes the secretary of the Security Council, Rustem Umyerov, the head of the presidential office, Kyrylo Budanov, and the head of the parliamentary faction of the presidential Servant of the People party, David Arachamija. She did not provide any information about the US negotiators. According to media reports, US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner will be there.
Russian participation in the negotiations is apparently not planned. However, US negotiators are expected to travel to Moscow soon. On Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made it clear that Russia hoped for an early visit by US negotiators Witkoff and Kushner for talks about an end to the Ukraine war. The dialogue with the Americans is ongoing. Witkoff and Kushner had already traveled to Moscow at the beginning of December for talks with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin.
The American side is talking to Ukraine and European allies on the one hand, and with Moscow on the other. There are currently no direct peace negotiations between the two warring parties.
Zelensky warns of new Russian air strikes
In his evening video message, Zelensky warned of new massive Russian air strikes. At the same time, he criticized the Western allies. «We talk honestly with our partners about the necessary missiles for anti-aircraft defense and anti-aircraft systems. The deliveries are not enough,” emphasized Zelensky. Kyiv is urging the partner states to speed up the delivery process.
There has been severe frost in Ukraine for days and temperatures have dropped to minus 20 degrees in some cases at night. At the same time, the Russian military has caused outages in the supply of electricity and district heating in large parts of the country through systematic missile and drone attacks on energy systems. The situation is particularly dramatic in the capital Kiev, where there have been emergency power cuts for days. (sda/dpa)