SECURITY: Witkoff To Brief UKR Officials In Miami, Peace Process Appears Stalled

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, will meet Ukrainian national security adviser Rustem Umerov in Miami today to debrief on Tuesday’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. 

• Although Trump described the Moscow meeting as “reasonably good,” it appears to have delivered little progress on peace negotiations. Trump said his delegation believed that Putin "wants to make a deal,” but that assessment is likely to draw scepticism in European capitals, which see no evidence that Putin will strike a deal that falls short of his maximalist demands.
• The NYT reports that the lack of progress leaves Trump with a “difficult but familiar set of choices”: He could apply more pressure on Zelenskyy to accept an unfavourable deal; he could restore military aid to Kyiv and ramp up sanctions on Russia; or he could walk away from negotiations. 
• Meanwhile, European leaders are struggling to reach an agreement on funding Ukraine with a loan backed by ~USD$250 billion in frozen Russian state assets. The EU is reportedly considering a proposal that would make it easier to sidestep opposition from Hungary, but the plan appears unlikely to win over Belgium's (where the bulk of the assets are held) objections to the legality of the move.
• The Guardian reports that European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen yesterday outlined a €90bn plan, which she estimated would cover two-thirds of Kyiv’s funding needs for the next two years. She said other “international partners” would cover the rest.