US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held more than three hours of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow before traveling on to Kyiv for their first-ever visit to the Ukrainian capital, part of a renewed American push to end more than four years of war.
A High-Stakes Moscow Meeting
The Kremlin meeting, the pair's first visit to Moscow since January, ran long without any announced breakthrough, though Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov described the talks as substantive, frank and constructive, saying a series of ideas for a peace settlement had been formulated. Putin reportedly told the envoys that Russia was making real progress on the battlefield and remained confident of achieving its objectives, while stressing the need to resolve what he called the root causes of the conflict.
Arriving In Kyiv By Train
Witkoff and Kushner traveled overland into Ukraine, arriving by train after their flight made a stop in Rzeszow, Poland, and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday alongside senior Ukrainian and European officials. Zelenskyy said Russian strikes had prevented the envoys from flying directly into the country, underscoring the fragility of the moment even as diplomacy moved forward.
A Temporary Pause In Capital Strikes
As a direct outcome of the talks, both Russia and Ukraine agreed to refrain from striking each other's capitals for three days, a rare de-escalatory gesture during the diplomatic push. Zelenskyy confirmed the pause on social media, while officials on both sides described the arrangement as an effort to create space for the negotiations to continue.
What Comes Next
A White House official said next steps from the talks would be announced in the coming weeks, though significant differences remain between Moscow and Kyiv over territorial claims and security guarantees. The renewed diplomatic effort comes after months in which the administration's attention had been consumed by the separate conflict with Iran, even as US officials privately worry the war in Ukraine could be on the verge of further escalation.