Secretary of State Marco Rubio and a Ukrainian delegation wrapped roughly five hours of talks Sunday in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Both sides walked out calling the session productive. Neither offered much in the way of specifics.

"We had a very productive session. We don't want to only end the war but make Ukraine safe forever," Rubio told reporters, according to Axios. He added that "there is more work to be done" and that discussions with Moscow would continue when special envoy Steve Witkoff travels to Russia this week.

Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, led the delegation from Kyiv. He described the meeting as "productive and successful" and said the two sides discussed "all the important matters" affecting Ukraine and its people, CBS News reported.

The talks took place at Shell Bay, a private golf and racket club developed by Witkoff's real estate company. Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, joined Rubio and Witkoff on the American side. The Ukrainian delegation included Deputy Foreign Minister Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ambassador Olha Stefanishyna, military chief of staff Gen. Andrii Hnatov, and intelligence officials.

Witkoff is scheduled to fly to Moscow on Monday, a U.S. official confirmed to CBS News. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state television that President Vladimir Putin will receive Witkoff before Thursday, when Putin departs for India.

Yermak's exit reshapes delegation

The Ukrainian team arrived in Florida without the man who had been running negotiations for Kyiv. On Friday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the resignation of his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, after anti-corruption investigators searched his home.

Yermak had met with Rubio in Geneva just one week earlier. Both sides had described those talks as positive. The Washington Post and Washington Times reported that Zelenskyy's government has been shaken by a scandal involving $100 million embezzled from the energy sector through kickbacks paid by contractors.

Yermak texted associates on Sunday that he was "going to the front" in eastern Ukraine, Axios reported. He had long been considered the second most powerful figure in the country. His departure came at a critical moment in negotiations.

Umerov stepped in as lead negotiator. "I remain in constant contact with the President of Ukraine," he wrote on X before the meeting. "We have clear directives and priorities: safeguarding Ukrainian interests, ensuring substantive dialogue, and advancing on the basis of the progress achieved in Geneva."

Two sticking points remain

American and Ukrainian officials reached agreement on most issues during last week's Geneva talks. Two items remain unresolved: territory and security guarantees.

The original 28-point plan developed by Washington and Moscow drew immediate criticism from Kyiv and European allies. It called for Ukraine to cede the entire Donbas region to Russia, accept limits on the size of its military, give up its bid to join NATO, and hold elections within 100 days. The Washington Times and other outlets reported that critics described the proposal as a Russian wish list.

Negotiators have since revised the document. Al Jazeera reported that the plan was trimmed from 28 points to 19 following the Geneva consultations. Trump has referred to the original framework as a "concept" or a "map" to be "fine-tuned."

A senior U.S. official told Axios that the White House wanted to close the gaps on territory and security guarantees during Sunday's meeting. "The Ukrainians know what we expect from them," the official said.

Yermak had told Axios before his resignation that territorial concessions could only be negotiated at the presidential level. Trump said last week he would meet Zelenskyy and Putin only once the parties were close to an agreement.

Putin holds firm on demands

The Kremlin has offered cautious approval of the American framework while refusing to budge on territorial claims. Putin said Thursday that the U.S. draft could serve as a "basis for future agreements," but repeated his demand that Ukrainian forces withdraw from positions before any ceasefire takes effect.

"Ukrainian troops will withdraw from the territories they occupy, and then the fighting will cease," Putin told reporters in Kyrgyzstan, according to the Kyiv Independent. "If they don't withdraw, we will achieve this through military means."

Russia claims four Ukrainian regions—Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson—that its forces do not fully control. Kyiv and its European partners have signaled that territorial concessions represent a red line.

Putin also cast doubt on signing any agreement with the current Ukrainian government, pointing to the postponement of elections under martial law. Ukraine's constitution prohibits elections during wartime.

Violence continues on both fronts

The diplomatic push has not slowed military operations. Russian drone and missile attacks struck Kyiv and the surrounding region Saturday and Sunday, killing at least three people and wounding dozens more.

Zelenskyy cited the strikes in a post on X. "This week alone, the Russians have used nearly 1,400 attack drones, 1,100 guided aerial bombs, and 66 missiles against our people," he wrote. "This is exactly why we must strengthen Ukraine's resilience every single day."

Ukraine hit back at Russian energy infrastructure. Maritime drones damaged two oil tankers flying the Gambian flag in the Black Sea on Friday and Saturday. Ukraine also claimed responsibility for striking a major oil terminal near the Russian port of Novorossiysk, owned by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium.

Kazakhstan, which relies on the CPC pipeline for a large share of its oil exports, issued a sharp response. "We view what has occurred as an action harming the bilateral relations of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Ukraine," the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said in a statement, per the Washington Times.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova condemned Ukraine's strikes as "terrorist attacks" and accused Kyiv of targeting infrastructure "that play an important role in ensuring global energy security."

Zelenskyy is scheduled to meet French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Monday. He spoke with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte over the weekend and wrote on X that "these are important days and much can change."