US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner traveled to Kyiv on Sunday for the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion, a day after holding more than three hours of talks with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. President Volodymyr Zelensky said afterward that he expects the war to continue into winter, despite the renewed diplomatic push.
The two envoys traveled from Poland to Kyiv by train rather than by air, after Zelensky said Russian strikes made a flight unsafe. They were welcomed by Zelensky outside St. Sophia Cathedral in central Kyiv, a day after their closed-door meeting with Putin at the Kremlin, which Russian officials described as “constructive, frank and useful.”
What Happened
Witkoff and Kushner held two rounds of talks with Zelensky and his senior advisers on Sunday, with a third meeting joined by national security advisers from the UK, France and Germany. A White House official said the US and Russian sides had discussed “substantive plans for next steps” during the Moscow meeting, which are expected to be announced in the coming weeks. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Putin told the envoys it was necessary to eliminate the underlying causes of the conflict, without offering specifics on what that would require.
Kushner told reporters after the Kyiv talks that he and Witkoff want to return to a “trilateral format” involving the US, Russia and Ukraine directly, an approach last used roughly six months ago, saying it allows the parties to communicate without Washington having to speak on behalf of either side.
Latest Developments
Zelensky said Ukraine, Europe and the United States plan to meet again in the near future, and that Kyiv’s immediate priorities include US energy and air defense support heading into winter. He said any eventual settlement must include security guarantees and what he called a dignified postwar peace, and gave no indication Ukraine is prepared to make major territorial concessions. President Trump is expected to speak with Putin first, then Zelensky, once he is briefed by his envoys, with the calls likely taking place Monday.
Key Facts
- Witkoff and Kushner met with Putin in Moscow for more than three hours on Saturday, followed by dinner with the Russian leader.
- The envoys’ Sunday visit to Kyiv was their first to the Ukrainian capital since the full-scale invasion began, after multiple prior trips to Russia.
- Zelensky said he expects the war to continue into winter despite the renewed diplomatic push.
- Kushner said he and Witkoff want to revive trilateral talks involving the US, Russia and Ukraine.
- Trump is expected to call Putin and then Zelensky after being briefed by his envoys, likely on Monday.
Reactions
Witkoff described the discussions in Kyiv as “very meaningful” and said he was confident of reaching a good resolution. Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Zelensky’s office, was more skeptical, telling associates he believes Russia will not be genuinely ready for negotiations until spring or summer of 2027. The visit came amid near-constant Russian missile and drone strikes on Kyiv, including a direct hit last Friday on the headquarters of Ukraine’s Security Service, the SBU.
Background
Witkoff and Kushner have visited Russia several times during the conflict but had not previously traveled to Ukraine’s capital. Their trip follows CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s own unannounced visit to Moscow in late August, part of a broader pattern of high-level US contacts with both Moscow and Kyiv this year. The renewed diplomatic push also comes weeks after Putin dismissed an earlier round of Ukraine-US peace proposals as “exotic” and unacceptable, insisting any deal reflect the current battlefield situation rather than Ukraine’s prewar borders.
Why It Matters
The first-ever visit by senior US envoys to Kyiv, paired with talk of reviving trilateral negotiations, signals a more active phase of American diplomacy than the shuttle talks with Moscow alone that have characterized much of the past year. But Zelensky’s own expectation that the war will continue into winter, together with Budanov’s far more pessimistic timeline, suggests the diplomatic momentum has not yet translated into any concrete step toward ending the fighting.
What Happens Next
Attention now turns to Trump’s expected calls with Putin and Zelensky, and to whether the promised “next steps” from the Moscow talks materialize into a concrete proposal in the coming weeks. It remains unclear whether Russia will agree to a return to trilateral talks, or whether the sides can bridge the gap between Kyiv’s demand for security guarantees and Moscow’s insistence on addressing what it calls the root causes of the war.
Sources: CNN, ABC News, Axios, NPR, Fox News, Kyiv Independent.
