US Envoys Meet Zelenskyy in Kyiv for Ukraine War Talks
US special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff held their first talks in Kyiv with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a day after meeting Russia's Vladimir
United States special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Sunday. This marked their first visit to the Ukrainian capital since Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
The meeting focused on ending Russia's war against Ukraine. It occurred just one day after Kushner and Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow for discussions that lasted over three hours. According to Al Jazeera, the US envoys arrived in Kyiv by train from Poland.
President Zelenskyy expressed the importance of the delegation's arrival. "It is very important that the delegation has arrived to see us. We have been waiting a long time for Steve and Jared," he said. Zelenskyy also thanked US President Donald Trump for allowing the visit despite the ongoing conflict.
Details of the Discussions
Steve Witkoff described the talks in Kyiv as meaningful and substantive. He stated the team was very encouraged and looked forward to continuing the process. Jared Kushner added that President Trump's goal was not only to end the current war but to create conditions for a long-term, durable peace. The US team said they had learned a lot from the trip.
British, French, and German national security advisers joined the Ukrainian president and the US envoys for a second round of talks in the capital. Zelenskyy noted his gratitude for European support, saying, "Here we are all on the same side." Ukraine's top security officials and negotiators were also present.
Al Jazeera's correspondent in Kyiv, Audrey MacAlpine, reported that little new information emerged from the talks. She characterized the discussions as "kicking the can down the road." Zelenskyy reiterated that the most critical issues, such as territory, would require decisions at the leader level.
The Context of the Visits
The back-to-back meetings in Moscow and Kyiv took place under a temporary ceasefire agreement for the two capitals. Both Russia and Ukraine pledged not to strike each other's capital for three days around the US team's visit. Despite this, fighting continued in other areas.
In Moscow, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov described the talks with Putin as highly useful and extremely frank. He said the US team put forward ideas on possible routes to a settlement but provided no details. Before the talks, Putin thanked Trump for his persistence and promised to ensure the safety of the envoys in Kyiv.
Previous rounds of US-mediated peace talks have yielded few results. President Trump, who campaigned on ending the war, suggested on Friday that the US had a fresh proposal but did not elaborate.
Ongoing Military Actions
While diplomatic talks proceeded, military actions continued elsewhere. The Russian Defence Ministry stated its forces struck a Ukrainian cargo vessel in the Black Sea, alleging it carried Western-supplied military equipment. The ministry also claimed to have shot down 400 drones in the past 24 hours and struck Ukrainian infrastructure and drone storage sites.
Ukraine's Air Force reported that Russia attacked overnight with 108 drones and missiles. It also claimed a strike on the Ryazan oil refinery, approximately 480 kilometers inside Russia, which caused a fire.
The war, described as Moscow's four-and-a-half-year invasion, has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths and displaced millions. Russia occupies large areas of eastern and southern Ukraine, and Putin has insisted on seizing the rest of the east. Key issues like the future of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions remain unresolved, with Ukraine seeking hard security guarantees from its allies.
