US peace envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev today, as the Donald Trump administration renewed efforts to end Russia's four-and-a-half-year war in Ukraine.
Kouchner and Vitkoff traveled from Moscow, where they spoke for three hours with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday, but it appears they failed to achieve a breakthrough in resolving the conflict, Reuters reports.
Previous rounds of US-brokered peace talks, encouraged by President Donald Trump, who campaigned on promises to quickly end the war, have yielded few results. Trump hinted on Friday that the US had a new proposal but did not provide details.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov described Saturday's meeting as "very useful," while a White House official told Reuters that next steps would be announced in the coming weeks.
The two envoys met with Zelensky and other senior Ukrainian officials in central Kiev.
Zelensky, who believes Washington will play a key role in any peace agreement, said there is an opportunity to achieve peace before the US starts focusing on the next presidential election.
After the first round of talks between Ukrainian and American negotiators, which lasted about three hours, American envoys said they expected further progress.
"Substantial and important discussions, and we are very encouraged," Vitkoff told reporters after the meeting, which included a working lunch.
Zelensky said additional talks were planned later today, including European representatives. The national security advisers of Great Britain, France and Germany were in Kyiv today.
"Security guarantees are needed. A dignified peace after the war is needed. Our proposals are prepared," Zelensky said as his negotiating team prepared for a meeting with US envoys.
Cautious optimism on the streets of Kiev
Witkoff and Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, have visited Moscow several times as peace envoys. However, Sunday's visit is their first to Kiev as American negotiators.
The Ukrainian leadership has long sought their visit, and on the streets of Kiev, which has been subjected to heavy bombing in recent weeks, some residents expressed hope.
"The issue can be resolved in the blink of an eye. We want peace. I fought in war myself, so I know what war is like. We need peace, because there is no other way," said military veteran Stepan Yermak.
In previous talks, the sides have remained far apart on key issues, including the future of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region. Russia has demanded that Ukraine withdraw from a fortified belt of cities it still controls there, but Kiev has refused, arguing that it can still hold onto those positions.
For Ukraine, solid security guarantees from European allies and the United States are essential to deter Russia from another invasion.
"We need an agreement that will never be broken," said Svitlana Kurylenko, a 19-year-old cafe worker.
"Just leave Ukraine alone and let the people live in peace."
Temporary cessation of attacks
Although the front lines in the ground war are largely static, both Russian and Ukrainian forces have stepped up long-range air strikes in recent weeks.
Russia has been shelling the Ukrainian capital with missiles and drones day and night for the past two weeks, including an attack on Friday on the headquarters of Ukraine's SBU security service.
The Kremlin said it would halt attacks on Kiev by Monday, while Zelensky said Ukraine would also halt attacks on Moscow.
However, fighting along the 1.200-kilometer front has not subsided, and Russia bombed other Ukrainian cities on Saturday.
Ukraine carried out devastating attacks on Russian refineries, oil terminals and warehouses of online retailer Wildberries over the summer, attempting to increase the cost of continuing the war for Moscow.
Ukraine said on Sunday it had struck an oil refinery in Ryazan, about 480 kilometers inside Russia, overnight, causing a fire.
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