US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have arrived in Kyiv for talks with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, following a meeting with Vladimir Putin in Moscow as Washington seeks to revive stalled efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
The visit on Sunday, September 6, is the first official trip to the Ukrainian capital by the two American negotiators during the peace process. It comes a day after they held more than three hours of closed-door discussions with the Russian president at the Kremlin.
Mr Zelenskyy said Ukraine was ready for a “constructive” discussion with the US delegation, adding that Kyiv’s proposals had been prepared. He said the country needed an end to the war, security guarantees and a “just and sustainable postwar peace”.
Witkoff and Kushner take peace push to Kyiv
The Moscow meeting ended without any announcement of a breakthrough. Yuri Ushakov, Mr Putin’s foreign policy adviser, described the talks as constructive, frank and useful, but gave no details of progress towards a settlement.
Mr Ushakov said the discussions included Moscow’s assessment of the battlefield and covered more than the conflict itself. “Economic issues and potentially large, mutually beneficial joint projects for Russia and America were discussed in considerable detail,” he said.
The talks are taking place as Russian and Ukrainian forces continue to exchange heavy air attacks. Both Mr Putin and Mr Zelenskyy had agreed to pause strikes on each other’s capitals during the diplomatic visits, although officials reported overnight attacks on both sides.
Russia had agreed not to strike Kyiv for three days from midnight on Saturday, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Mr Zelenskyy said Ukraine was prepared to refrain from attacks on Moscow through Monday and expected Russia to do the same.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said Russian attacks across several regions killed one person and injured at least 10 others overnight. A 74-year-old man was killed in drone strikes in Zaporizhzhia, while seven people were hurt after a drone damaged an apartment building in the Khmelnytskyi region.
The Ukrainian Air Force said 82 of 108 Russian drones launched overnight, along with six missiles, had been intercepted. Russia’s Defence Ministry claimed its air defences had shot down 258 Ukrainian drones over 14 regions, occupied Crimea and the Black and Azov seas.
Washington’s latest diplomatic effort follows months in which the peace process has lost momentum, with the US administration focused heavily on the war with Iran. Witkoff and Kushner last met Mr Putin in Moscow in January.
Kyiv has rejected Moscow’s demand that Ukrainian forces withdraw from parts of Donetsk and Luhansk that remain under Ukrainian control. The discussions in Kyiv are expected to focus on whether the American proposals can bridge that divide and establish a basis for further negotiations.
