"Stalemate" Narrative and the Lives Behind It: Russian Forces Kill Over 70 Ukrainian Civilians in Two Days Ahead of Miami Talks

Officials from Ukraine, Europe, and the United States are scheduled to gather in Miami on Friday for two days of ceasefire talks. According to DW, US President Trump's envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff will lead the dialogue with the Ukrainian side.

Yet just before the talks opened, Russian missiles claimed the lives of over 70 Ukrainian civilians in less than 48 hours. DW reported that a bus in the eastern frontline city of Kramatorsk was attacked, killing 30 civilians; a five-story apartment building in the northern Chernihiv region was hit, killing 22 Ukrainians, including 5 children. Confirming the Miami meeting arrangements on Thursday evening, Zelensky said bluntly: "Where is the truth? Where is the honesty? Where is the stalemate? …That's called a lack of will."

Zelensky's anger was directed squarely at US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's assessment the previous day that the Russia-Ukraine war had reached a "stalemate." According to DW, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed agreement the following day, and said he saw no possibility of a three-way summit between Putin, Zelensky, and Trump in the near term.

Against the backdrop of Russian missiles continuing to fall and civilian casualties climbing, officials in the US and Russia converged on the diplomatic phrase "stalemate"—a convergence of language that makes it easier for those reading war news to blur responsibility for the ongoing bombing. Zelensky is attempting to dismantle this narrative. DW reported that he said, "We cannot, on the one hand, negotiate future economic cooperation with the Russian side, and on the other hand, say we are stuck in some kind of …diplomatic stalemate," and stressed that "we are not in a diplomatic dead end."

According to DW, Zelensky also asked the US to expand Ukraine's access to Elon Musk's Starlink satellite service. "Open Starlink to Ukraine. You already opened it when dealing with Iran," he said. "I've said it publicly—give it to us, help us hold the skies, dominate there. Then Putin will come back to the negotiating table." He also called for harsher sanctions on Russia to cripple its economy, which DW said would be a key issue for the Ukrainian side to press on US envoys in Miami.

According to DW, citing a US source close to the talks, the relevant parties "are all nervous about winter. If the war cannot be stopped, it will be a difficult winter." DW also reported that the Ukrainian delegation will be led by Zelensky's chief of office Kyrylo Budanov, with members including senior officials Rustem Umerov, Sergiy Kislytsia, and David Arakhamia.

US negotiators have been developing "new ideas" in recent contacts with both the Russian and Ukrainian sides, but according to DW, the contents have not been made public; it also remains to be confirmed in what form the European team will join the negotiating group.