US Envoys Visit Kyiv After Moscow Peace Talks

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday before meeting Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Sunday. The closed-door Moscow session lasted more than three hours and ended without an announced breakthrough. The Kyiv trip was Witkoff and Kushner's first official visit to Ukraine since Donald Trump returned to office. The talks came amid unresolved disputes over territory, security guarantees and the terms of a settlement.

Yuri Ushakov, a Kremlin aide, called the Moscow exchange constructive, frank and useful, and said its tone reflected trust. Witkoff and Kushner described their Kyiv discussions as substantive and encouraging.

Zelenskyy held three rounds of talks with the U.S. envoys in Kyiv, with British, French and German national-security advisers joining the final round.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine was approaching the process constructively. He said Ukraine had prepared proposals for coordinated, substantive and realistic work.

The talks covered air-defence requirements, including Patriot systems, and a winter support package for air defence and energy infrastructure. Zelenskyy said the war was expected to continue through winter, increasing Ukraine's need for outside energy and air-defence support.

A limited pause amid continued fighting

Russia continued large-scale drone and missile attacks on Ukraine around the talks. During the envoys' visit, Russia and Ukraine were reported to have agreed to a three-day pause in air strikes targeting each other's capitals, while attacks and fighting continued outside that scope.

BBC News and The Independent assessed the limited measure as a brief respite for Moscow and Kyiv rather than a halt to the wider war. Ukrainian officials said intelligence indicated that Putin may be preparing a major escalation, including possible operations in northern Ukraine.

BBC Verify reported that repeated air-raid alerts were putting Kyiv residents under acute pressure, with some entering shelters up to 13 times daily.

Territory and security remain unresolved

Moscow's stated settlement position calls for Ukrainian territorial concessions, while Kyiv has rejected withdrawing from Ukrainian-controlled areas in the east. Putin has said a lasting settlement must tackle what Russia calls the conflict's root causes. BBC News reporting has described that formulation as encompassing Russia's territorial and strategic demands, including territory, Ukraine's NATO aspirations and the size of its military.

Zelenskyy said a just and dignified peace requires robust security guarantees and a strong Ukrainian army to deter renewed Russian aggression. He said the territorial question was so complex that it should be settled directly by national leaders.

The U.S. envoys said their objective was a framework for durable peace, rather than merely a pause in fighting. Kushner said Trump was focused on such a framework, while Witkoff said both sides would need to make compromises. BBC News and Associated Press assessed that fundamental differences, particularly over territory, remained unresolved.

Follow-up and wider implications

Zelenskyy urged the participants to "keep diplomacy going." The participants agreed to seek a follow-up meeting involving Ukraine, the United States and Europe.

Separately, Kushner said the U.S. envoys hoped to revive trilateral talks involving Russia and Ukraine directly.

Trump separately said there might be a good chance of a peace agreement.

NPR assessed that continued attacks on Black Sea shipping routes could contribute to renewed global grain shortages.

Separately, Scott Bessent said American economic relief for Russia should wait until the war ends.

The White House said the delegation and Putin discussed substantive plans for next steps, which would be announced in coming weeks.