US envoys due in Kyiv after talks with Putin on Ukraine war
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner discussed possible next steps with Vladimir Putin, but no agreement or confirmed breakthrough has been reported.
US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are due to travel to Kyiv after three-hour, closed-door talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on possible next steps to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
The White House said the envoys and Mr Putin discussed “substantive plans for next steps”. Their precise contents remain unclear, with an announcement expected in the coming weeks.
The Kyiv visit, expected on Sunday, would be the first by US President Donald Trump’s lead negotiators to the Ukrainian capital in their current negotiating role. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he is ready for a substantive conversation.
Putin adviser Yuri Ushakov described the Moscow meeting as constructive and extremely frank. He said economic issues and potential Russian-American projects were also discussed. Those assessments have not been independently verified.
Mr Putin and Mr Zelensky have agreed to halt strikes on each other’s capitals for three days, although the wider scope of the pause is unclear. No agreement ending the war or confirmed breakthrough has been reported, while Russia and Ukraine have intensified missile, drone and infrastructure attacks in recent months.
