US envoys Witkoff and Kushner hold Kyiv talks after meeting Putin in Moscow

Envoys travel between Moscow and Kyiv

United States envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Kyiv on Sunday by train from Poland, marking their first official visit to Ukraine. Witkoff, a business ally of United States President Donald Trump, and Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, traveled to the Ukrainian capital after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday. To facilitate the visit while Ukrainian airspace remained closed, Putin declared a three-day ceasefire to ensure the envoys' safety during transit. Ukraine's state rail operator confirmed the delegation departed Kyiv early on Monday, sharing an image of the envoys beneath a station sign reading Peace Express.

Kyiv discussions and European involvement

During their stay in Kyiv, the American envoys engaged in three rounds of negotiations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The third meeting included national security advisers representing the United Kingdom, France and Germany. A senior Ukrainian presidential official told AFP that the United States had introduced more effective proposals than in previous rounds, noting that continuous dialogue remained the most important element of the talks. Witkoff indicated that negotiators were working to identify necessary compromises between the warring parties.

We think we have the ingredients to get to that place.

Kushner noted that the American delegation was operating behind the scenes to establish conditions for an agreement, adding that the mission aimed to identify new ways to make progress.

It's a very, very hard problem, but we're going to try.

Military aid and territorial divisions

Despite the constructive tone described by participants, the meetings produced no formal breakthrough on ending the four-and-a-half-year conflict. Moscow occupies territory across eastern and southern Ukraine, demanding that Kyiv recognize both occupied zones and claimed regions as Russian. During Saturday's discussions in Moscow, Russian officials told the American envoys that Russian forces felt confident about making further advances. In response to the battlefield conditions, Zelensky stressed that hostilities looked set to persist into the cold months and outlined specific military requirements.

If the war drags on until winter -- and that is how things currently look -- we will need a 'winter package'

Zelensky said discussions focused heavily on procuring Patriot missile systems and other armaments, emphasizing that Kyiv requires substantial volumes of American and European military assistance to sustain defenses.

Diplomatic context and subsequent talks

The diplomatic push followed earlier negotiations that stalled after January discussions with Putin at the Kremlin failed to generate results. In Moscow, Putin's foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov described Saturday's meetings as constructive and frank, noting that discussions included economic matters and potential Russia-United States projects alongside the conflict. Following the meetings in Kyiv, Zelensky expressed gratitude for European attendance, stating that Ukraine and its Western partners remained on the same side. He reiterated that resolving territorial questions will require a direct meeting between heads of state, confirming that Ukraine plans further consultations with the United States, France and Germany.