KYIV, Ukraine — US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff arrived in Kyiv on Sunday to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and advance efforts to end Russia’s more than four-year war against Ukraine.
The visit marked the first time Kushner and Witkoff traveled to the Ukrainian capital since the war began. They arrived by train after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow on Saturday.
A White House official said the envoys met Putin to advance President Donald Trump’s peace agenda. The talks covered plans for possible next steps, which officials said the two sides would announce in the coming weeks.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov described the meeting as “extremely frank” and said the American envoys presented several ideas for a potential settlement. He did not provide details.
Ushakov also said Russia remained confident it could achieve its military objectives, including taking control of the remaining parts of eastern Ukraine.
Zelensky said Ukraine remained ready for discussions.
“Ukraine has always been and will remain constructive,” he said on social media ahead of the meeting.
Kushner and Witkoff have traveled to Moscow eight times during the war but had not previously visited Kyiv. Ukraine closed its airspace after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, prompting visiting officials to travel by train.
Trump said Friday that his envoys would take a proposal to the talks.
“We have an idea for peace,” Trump said without providing details.
The US-led efforts have yet to produce a breakthrough, while Russia and Ukraine remain divided over the terms of a settlement. Russia occupies large areas of eastern and southern Ukraine, and Putin has maintained that Moscow intends to seize the remaining parts of eastern Ukraine.
Limited truce
Russia and Ukraine agreed to suspend attacks on each other’s capitals for three days to allow the negotiations to proceed.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin ordered Russian forces not to strike Kyiv from midnight for three days. Zelensky said Ukraine would also refrain from striking Moscow through Monday.
Fighting continued elsewhere despite the limited truce. Ukraine’s air force reported that Russia launched 108 drones and missiles overnight, while Moscow said it had shot down 258 Ukrainian drones.
Ukrainian authorities said Russian strikes killed 10 people across the country on Saturday, including a child and family members in the Kharkiv region and two people outside Kyiv.
Putin said Saturday that Ukrainian forces had significantly reduced their attacks on Russia and Moscow.
For some Ukrainians, however, the latest negotiations offered little expectation of a breakthrough.
“At this point it doesn’t give me any hope. There have already been too many negotiations,” Yaroslav, a 29-year-old Kyiv resident, told AFP.
