Witkoff and Kushner arrive in Kyiv after three-hour Putin talks
President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Kyiv on Sunday for their first wartime visit to Ukraine, hours after a lengthy Kremlin session with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A dual-capital shuttle
The Kyiv stop is the second leg of a shuttle that began in Moscow. A White House official told US networks the envoys discussed “substantive plans for next steps” toward ending Russia’s full-scale war, now in its fifth year, and that announcements could follow in the coming weeks.
Zelenskyy wrote on X before the meeting that Ukraine wants peace, security guarantees, and a “dignified character” for any postwar settlement, and that Ukrainian proposals were ready. European national-security officials from France, Germany, and the United Kingdom also travelled to Kyiv for Sunday’s talks.
Ukraine has always been and will remain constructive. We are interested in bringing the end of the war closer. Peace is needed. Security guarantees are needed.
What Moscow signalled
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov described the Saturday talks as constructive and useful but gave little evidence of a breakthrough. He said Putin told the Americans it was necessary to eliminate “all root causes of the Ukrainian conflict” — phrasing Moscow often uses when listing neutrality, demilitarisation, and limits on NATO aspirations.
US and Russian officials both characterised the session as serious. Outside Kyiv, Ukrainian scepticism remained high. Oleksandr Merezhko, chair of Ukraine’s parliamentary foreign-affairs committee, told ABC News he expected the envoys but held “no hopes at all,” arguing Putin believes only Ukrainian capitulation can secure his position.
The temporary “no-shoot” window
Both capitals agreed to pause strikes on each other while the US delegation moved. Putin’s spokesman said Russia ordered no strikes on Kyiv for a multi-day window tied to the visit; Zelenskyy mirrored restraint toward Moscow through Monday. Overnight reporting still described Russian drones and missiles hitting other parts of Ukraine, and Ukrainian drones continuing against Russian targets.
Trump has repeatedly pledged to end the war quickly. Sunday’s choreography — Kremlin first, then Kyiv, with European partners in the room — is the clearest public test yet of whether his personal envoys can convert access into terms either capital will sign.