US envoys make first Kyiv visit amid Ukraine war peace push

U.S. peace envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff held their first meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv on Sunday, as the Trump administration continues its efforts to resolve the four-and-a-half-year war in Ukraine. The two previously spent three hours discussing the conflict with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday, but no significant breakthrough was achieved.

Despite previous U.S.-mediated peace talks under Trump's presidency, the conflict has persisted. Kushner and Witkoff traveled from Moscow to Kyiv on Sunday, where they met with Zelenskiy and other Ukrainian officials. Zelenskiy expressed his belief that Washington will play a crucial role in any potential peace deal, emphasizing the need for security guarantees and a stable post-war peace.

The British, French, and German national security advisers were also present in Kyiv on Sunday. While cautious optimism exists among some Kyiv residents, key issues such as the future of the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas continue to remain a contentious point between Ukraine and Russia. Russia has demanded Ukraine's withdrawal from the towns it still controls in Donbas, an offer Ukraine has rejected.

Both Russian and Ukrainian forces have intensified their air strikes in recent weeks, though there has been no cessation of fighting along the 1,200-kilometer front.