• Sunday's US-Ukraine talks in Florida "productive" but "delicate"

• US envoy Witkoff to meet Russia's Putin on Tuesday

• Zelenskyy in Paris Monday to see Macron

• EU defense ministers meet in Brussels Monday

• NATO chief Mark Rutte meets Ukraine's defense minister in Brussels Monday

Ukraine-US talks bring progress, but more work needed to reach deal 

US and Ukrainian officials held what both sides called productive talks on Sunday about a Russia peace deal, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressing optimism about progress despite challenges to ending the more than three-year-long conflict.

Rubio met with a Ukrainian delegation led by a new chief negotiator in Florida, his home state, for talks that he said were meant to create a pathway for Ukraine to remain sovereign and independent.

"We continue to be realistic about how difficult this is, but optimistic, particularly given the fact that as we've made progress, I think there is a shared vision here that this is not just about ending the war," Rubio told reporters after the talks concluded. "It is about securing Ukraine's future, a future that we hope will be more prosperous than it's ever been."

The discussions were a follow-up to a new set of negotiations that began with a fresh US blueprint for peace. Critics said the plan initially favored Russia.

Special envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, were also present representing the US side. Witkoff leaves on Monday for Moscow, with the Kremlin confirming he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.

"There's more work to be done. This is delicate," Rubio said. "There are a lot of moving parts, and obviously there's another party involved here... that will have to be a part of the equation, and that will continue later this week, when Mr. Witkoff travels to Moscow."

New Ukrainian negotiator declares talks 'productive'

The talks shifted on Sunday with a change in leadership from the Ukrainian side. 

A new chief negotiator, national security council secretary Rustem Umerov, led the discussions for Kyiv after the resignation on Friday of previous team leader Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, amid a corruption scandal at home.

Umerov declared the meeting productive. "We discussed all the important matters that are important for Ukraine, for Ukrainian people and the US was super-supportive," he said.

Zelenskyy had said he expected the results from previous meetings in Geneva would be "hammered out" on Sunday. In Geneva, Ukraine presented a counter-offer to proposals laid out by US Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll to leaders in Kyiv some two weeks ago.

European meetings on Monday

Back across the Atlantic, Monday saw a flurry of high-level meetings in Europe. 

Zelenskyy arrived at the Elysee in Paris for talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, one of the leading figures in the so-called Coalition of the Willing backing Ukraine.

Meanwhile in Brussels, Ukraine's Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal is at NATO headquarters to meet Secretary-General Mark Rutte – while elsewhere in the Belgian capital, a long-scheduled round-table of EU defense ministers will have Ukraine high on the agenda.