Zelenskyy says US envoys bring ‘very good’ ideas to end Ukraine war

Kyiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that U.S. envoys visiting Kyiv had presented several “very good, worthwhile ideas” aimed at ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, and said he hoped to meet U.S. President Donald Trump within the next two weeks.

The comments came as Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow remained determined to achieve its objectives in Ukraine and suggested Russia believes it is nearing victory, more than four years after launching its full-scale invasion. Ukrainian and Western officials and analysts dispute that assessment.

U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff travelled to Moscow and Kyiv over the weekend for separate meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy. The talks did not produce an immediate breakthrough, and Russia and Ukraine resumed deadly air attacks Tuesday following a brief weekend pause in their respective capitals during the U.S. officials' visits.

At least three civilians were killed and 16 wounded in Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials. Russian officials reported three deaths and 13 injuries in areas under Moscow's control.

Zelenskyy said he expected to meet Trump around September 20, coinciding with the period of the U.N. General Assembly in New York.

The Ukrainian president indicated that he would seek additional Patriot air defence systems from Trump, saying Kyiv needs them to defend against Russian ballistic missile attacks.

Zelenskyy also thanked U.S. officials for efforts to revive negotiations with Moscow, which have made little progress since stalling earlier this year.

“As for the peace package that Kushner spoke about and the new ideas, I’ll tell you frankly, there were indeed a couple of very good, worthwhile ideas,” Zelenskyy said in audio messages responding to reporters' questions.

He said the details of the proposals would remain confidential for now, while expressing hope that trilateral negotiations involving Ukrainian, Russian and U.S. delegations could be held in the fall.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine was “ready to find a compromise” over grain exports and energy. Russia and Ukraine have attacked each other's grain vessels in the Black Sea, raising concerns about disruptions to exports from two major global agricultural suppliers.

Kyiv has also targeted Russian oil infrastructure, while Moscow has intensified strikes against Ukraine's power grid ahead of the winter season.

Peskov, meanwhile, offered a more restrained assessment of the latest diplomatic efforts.

“We’re convinced the victory is very close. We’re very confident in our military potential,” Peskov told reporters, while saying Russia remains interested in a peaceful settlement and supports Trump's diplomatic efforts.

Putin has sought to present Russia as negotiating from a position of strength. However, European officials and Western analysts say Russia's larger military has struggled to make major gains along the roughly 1,250-kilometre (800-mile) front line, particularly in its effort to capture the eastern Donetsk region.

“Russian forces will not seize Donetsk ... until 2032 at their current rate of advance — if they can seize it at all,” the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said Sunday. “The Russian rate of advance has slowed significantly across the theatre since 2025, when Russia’s rate of advance had already begun to slow.”

With ground forces making limited progress, both sides have stepped up drone and missile attacks.

Russia's overnight strikes focused heavily on Kyiv and the southern Odesa region. Ukraine's Interior Minister Ivan Vyhivskyi said at least 16 people were wounded in Kyiv, while an immediate casualty count for Odesa was not available.

Explosions continued across Kyiv for nearly five hours, Vyhivskyi said. More than 50 sites were damaged, including residential buildings, dormitories, schools, shops, gas stations and a flour production facility.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described the assault as “a horrific attack” and accused Putin of attempting to undermine U.S. diplomatic efforts.

“His ballistic missiles speak louder than his words on diplomacy,” Sybiha said on X, referring to Putin. “Strike after strike on residential buildings brings him no closer to winning this war — it is nothing but senseless terror.”

Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces carried out a massive overnight strike against Ukrainian military-industrial facilities.

The ministry said the targets included sites storing Ukrainian drones and cruise missiles, as well as transport, logistics and distribution facilities handling military cargo in Kyiv and the surrounding region.

It also said infrastructure at the port of Chornomorsk in the Odesa region used for “unloading military cargo” was targeted.