US envoys land in Kyiv after three-hour Putin meeting as Washington renews Ukraine peace push
Kyiv: US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Kyiv on Sunday for their first official visit to Ukraine, as Washington steps up efforts to revive peace talks over Russia’s war.
Their arrival came a day after the two met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow for more than three hours of talks. The meeting was aimed at advancing a possible settlement but ended without any announced breakthrough.
The Kyiv visit marks a new phase in the US diplomatic effort, which has lost momentum in recent months as Washington focused heavily on the war with Iran.
Zelenskyy ready for talks
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv was ready for a constructive discussion with the US representatives.
“We are interested in bringing the end of the war closer. Peace is needed. Security guarantees are needed. A just and sustainable postwar peace is needed. Our proposals are prepared,” Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram.
Kyiv has rejected Russia’s demand that Ukraine withdraw from parts of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions that remain under Ukrainian control.
More than three hours of Putin talks
Witkoff and Kushner met Putin behind closed doors at the Kremlin on Saturday.
Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov described the meeting as constructive, frank and useful, but did not announce any specific outcome.
Ushakov said Moscow gave the US envoys a comprehensive assessment of the battlefield situation. The discussions also covered economic issues and potentially large joint projects between Russia and the United States.
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US tries to revive stalled peace push
Washington’s efforts to broker an end to the war have slowed after the US shifted much of its attention to the Iran conflict over the past six months.
The latest diplomatic push comes as Russia and Ukraine remain far apart over the terms of a possible settlement.
The 1,250-kilometre front line has seen little movement, while aerial attacks have intensified. Russia has increasingly used fast-flying, jet-powered drones, adding to the threat faced by civilians in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.
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Fighting continues
Despite the diplomatic activity, Russia and Ukraine continued exchanging attacks overnight.
Russian strikes across several Ukrainian regions killed one person and injured at least 10 others, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service.
A drone strike in Zaporizhzhia killed a 74-year-old man and wounded three people. Another drone damaged an apartment building in the Khmelnytskyi region, injuring seven people.
Ukraine’s Air Force said it intercepted 82 of the 108 Russian drones launched overnight, along with six missiles.
In Russia, a Ukrainian drone strike on a vehicle in the Belgorod border region killed a man and seriously wounded a woman, local authorities said.Russia’s Defence Ministry said its air defences shot down 258 Ukrainian drones over 14 regions, occupied Crimea and parts of the Black and Azov seas.
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Hope and doubt in Kyiv
Dozens of people gathered in Kyiv on Sunday for a nationwide 9 a.m. moment of silence honouring Ukraine’s fallen soldiers.
Nataliia Lipei, 67, whose son Viktor was killed in December 2022, said she hoped the latest talks would finally help end the war.
“I hope these steps and these meetings will definitely produce results,” she told The Associated Press.
Others were more sceptical.
Oleksandr Pastukhov, a 27-year-old video editor, said previous diplomatic efforts and short-lived ceasefires had failed to bring lasting peace.
“We’ve already seen delegations like this come here before,” he said, questioning whether the latest visit would make a difference.
For now, the Kyiv talks represent another attempt by Washington to bring Moscow and Kyiv closer to negotiations, even as the war continues and major differences over a peace settlement remain.