STORY: U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday (November 30) that talks about a peace deal with Russia with were "going along well" hours after Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Ukrainian officials and expressed optimism about progress despite challenges ending the more than 3-year-long war.

"Well they are going along and they're going along well," said Trump. "We want to stop people from being killed. It doesn't have much to do with us. But I'd like to see if we could save a lot of souls. A lot of people are being killed. Last month, we had 27,000 people killed in that ridiculous war that should have never happened. It would have never happened if I were president."

Rubio said the aim is to create a pathway that leaves Ukraine sovereign and independent. The discussions follow roughly two weeks of negotiations that began with a U.S. blueprint for peace. Critics said the plan initially favored Russia, which started the Ukraine conflict with a 2022 invasion.

Special envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, were also present representing the U.S. side. Witkoff is expected to meet Russian counterparts later this week.

Trump has expressed frustration at not being able to end the war. He pledged as a presidential candidate to do so in one day and has said he was surprised it has been so hard, given what he calls a strong relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has largely resisted concessions to stop the fighting.

Trump's team has pressured Ukraine to make significant concessions itself, including giving up territory to Russia.

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 talks for Kyiv after the resignation on Friday of previous team leader Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, amid a corruption scandal at home.

The Sunday talks took place near Miami at a private club, Shell Bay, developed by Witkoff's real estate business.

Zelenskiy 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 U.S. Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll to leaders in Kyiv some two weeks ago.

Ukraine's leadership, facing a domestic political crisis fueled by a probe into major graft in the energy sector, is seeking to push back on Moscow-friendly terms as Russian forces grind forward along the front lines of the war.

Last week, Zelenskiy warned Ukrainians, who are weathering widespread blackouts from Russian air strikes on the energy system, that his country was at its most difficult moment yet but pledged not to make a bad deal.

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VIDEO SHOWS: SOUNDBITES FROM U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP IN GAGGLE ON AIR FORCE ONE

SHOWS: IN AIR (NOVEMBER 30, 2025) (U.S. NETWORK POOL - No use USA)

1. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP SAYING:

"Go ahead."

REPORTER: "Can you give us an update on what took place in south Florida today, those talks between the U.S. and the Ukrainians?"

TRUMP: "Well they are going along and they're going along well. We want to stop people from being killed. It doesn't have much to do with us. But I'd like to see if we could save a lot of souls. A lot of people are being killed. Last month, we had 27,000 people killed in that ridiculous war that should have never happened. It would have never happened if I were president."

REPORTER: "Have you spoken with Rubio and Witkoff since that meeting?"

TRUMP: "Yeah, I've spoken to them and they're doing well. Ukraine's got some difficult little problems. They have some difficult problems, but I think Russia would like to see it ended. I think Ukraine, I know Ukraine would like to see it end."

REPORTER: "You just said that Ukraine has a little bit of problems. What are those problems?"

TRUMP: "The corruption situation going on which is not helpful."

REPORTER: "And it's not impeding the peace talks?"

TRUMP: "I said it was going on for three years, right. Didn't I say it? For three years I said it. So I was way ahead of schedule. But I think that there's a good chance we can make a deal."

2. WHITE FLASH

3. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP SAYING:

REPORTER: "When exactly is Steve Witkoff going to Moscow? And do you want to extend Putin some sort of deadline for the, for agreeing to.. ?"

TRUMP: "What is the second part of your question?"

REPORTER: "Do you want to tell Putin, 'here is my deadline for you to agree to a peace deal?"

TRUMP: "No, I don't have a deadline. I have a deadline when the war is over, and hopefully the war is going to be over. 27,000 people killed last week, 27,000 over the last three or four weeks. 27,000 people killed. That war should end."

4. WHITE FLASH

5. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP SAYING:

REPORTER: "Mr. President, one more question about Witkoff, because you mentioned, and this was asked previously, do you, can you tell us what day Witkoff is going to meet with Putin? And then on that, is that meeting...:

TRUMP: "Sometime next week."

REPORTER: "Okay. Do you have a, is it early next week? Late next week?"

TRUMP: "Sometime next week."