ISTANBUL

Talks between the US and Ukraine on Sunday centered on determining where a potential peace agreement would establish the de facto border with Russia, according to two Ukrainian officials who spoke with the Axios news site.

They said the five-hour session in the US state of Florida was “difficult” and “intense” but ultimately productive.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is expected to sit down with US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff this week, maintains that Russia will not halt its offensive until it holds all of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.

The US is urging Ukraine to concede some territory there in an effort to persuade Putin to accept a peace deal, a step that would be both painful and politically volatile for Ukraine.

The American delegation arrived at Witkoff’s private Shell Bay golf club near Miami on Sunday, aiming to advance discussions on territorial boundaries so Witkoff could present the progress to Putin during their upcoming meeting.

After an initial hour-long session with a broader group, talks shifted to three representatives from each side, with nearly the entire conversation focused on the territorial demarcation, the Ukrainian officials said.

The US team included Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Ukraine was represented by national security adviser Rustem Umerov, chief of staff of Ukraine's armed forces Andrii Hnatov and deputy military intelligence chief Vadym Skibitskyi.

Once the team discussions wrapped up, Umerov and Witkoff continued privately. Umerov later briefed President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on their conversation.

“It was intense but not negative. We really appreciate serious US engagement. Our position is that we have to make everything to help the US succeed without losing our country and preventing another aggression from happening,” one of the Ukrainian officials told Axios after the meeting.

Zelenskyy had hoped to negotiate territory directly with Trump, but Trump indicated that he would only meet with Zelenskyy or Putin again once a potential agreement was within reach.