US envoys Witkoff and Kushner hold talks in Ukraine after meeting with Putin

U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held "encouraging" talks in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Sunday during their first official visit to the country. This marks a renewed push to end the ongoing conflict, which has been raging for over four and a half years. The trip comes after a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday, as both countries have escalated their aerial attacks.

The discussions with the U.S. officials followed two rounds of talks with Witkoff and Kushner. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that the goal of the talks was a "just, fair peace" that would prevent aggression against Ukraine. He also expressed gratitude to the American negotiators for coming to Kyiv, their first visit to Ukraine.

Zelenskyy stated that the forthcoming talks would include national security advisers from Britain, France, and Germany. Witkoff said that President Donald Trump views the talks as important not just for ending the current war but also for creating conditions for durable peace.

A Ukrainian official, speaking anonymously, said that much of the conversation focused on strategies to get through the winter and preparations for the future. The Moscow meeting lasted more than three hours and resulted in no major announcements. Russian Foreign Policy Advisor Yuri Ushakov described the talks as constructive, frank, and useful, without providing specific outcomes.

While Russia was focused on the battlefield situation in Ukraine, the talks also covered economic matters and potential joint projects between Russia and America. On the night of Sunday, Russian attacks across multiple Ukrainian regions killed one person and wounded at least 10 others. In Zaporizhzhia, a drone strike killed a 74-year-old man and wounded three people, while another drone damaged an apartment building, injuring seven individuals in the Khmelnytskyi region.

Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 82 drones and six missiles launched by Russia overnight. In Russia, a Ukrainian drone strike killed a man and seriously wounded a woman in the Belgorod border region. In Kyiv on Sunday, a nationwide moment of silence was held to honor fallen soldiers, a daily ritual observed across the country.

Among the attendees was Nataliia Lipei, 67, whose son Viktor was killed in December 2022. Lipei expressed hope that the talks in Moscow and Kyiv would lead to an end to the war, despite skepticism from others about the effectiveness of such visits.