'A bad sign': US envoys head to Kyiv after three-hour talks with Putin

On Saturday evening, September 5, U.S. special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Russian President Vladimir Putin for over three hours at the Kremlin. The discussions aimed to explore potential solutions to end the war in Ukraine. The meeting was followed by an informal working dinner, as reported by Putin's aide, Yuri Ushakov. Ushakov emphasized that the U.S. delegation arrived "seriously prepared" and presented concrete ideas for a settlement.

During the talks, Putin reiterated his standard demands regarding the conflict, focusing on battlefield positions and addressing what he termed as the "root causes" of the war. He also confirmed that Russian forces had halted strikes on Kyiv since midnight on September 5, following a request for a temporary ceasefire transmitted through official diplomatic and intelligence channels.

However, Putin rejected Ukraine's request for a three-day ceasefire across the entire front line, stating that Moscow had never agreed to such an arrangement.

The U.S. envoys' visit was characterized by Putin's office as an "important peacemaking visit." After the Moscow meeting, Witkoff and Kushner are scheduled to travel to Kyiv on Sunday, September 6, to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky. Prior to the meeting in Moscow, Zelensky had spoken with Trump's envoys, pledging that Ukrainian forces would refrain from launching aerial strikes against Moscow until the end of Monday to facilitate the diplomatic process.

Ukraine had advocated for a comprehensive bilateral ceasefire, but the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed that combat operations continued on the frontline. Despite Moscow's rejection of the broader truce, the visit between the U.S. envoys and Putin aims to maintain direct personal contact between the two leaders and keep active channels for further discussions involving Witkoff and Kushner.