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US envoys arrive in Ukraine for talks after meeting Putin in Russia
Confirmed
In Short: US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are set to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv after holding discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are set to land in Kyiv on Sunday, having held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday. The envoys, who have visited Russia several times, are hoping for 'equally productive meetings' in Ukraine, according to US officials.
The talks in Moscow lasted three hours and were held behind closed doors in Putin's official residence in the heart of the Russian capital. Putin adviser Yuri Ushakov described the talks as 'constructive, extremely frank,' and noted that the discussions were not purely focused on the war in Ukraine but also included economic issues and potential major, mutually beneficial Russian-American projects.
During the talks, Putin offered a 'comprehensive assessment' of the battlefield situation in Ukraine, according to Russian state media. Ushakov also mentioned that 'note was made of the Russian army's tangible advances in the combat zone' and that there was acknowledgment that talks needed to address 'the root causes of the conflict.
Ukraine's State Emergency Service reported that Russian attacks across multiple Ukrainian regions killed one person and injured at least 10 others overnight into Sunday. Meanwhile, Ukraine's Air Force said that 82 out of 108 drones launched by Russia were intercepted. The envoys' visit follows a meeting with Putin in Moscow, where they also held talks in January.
The envoys left Moscow on Saturday evening en route to Kyiv, according to Russian news agencies TASS and RIA Novosti. The visit is seen as an important peacemaking effort, coming as the war has seen increasing civilian deaths and attacks in the past few months. Putin has repeatedly said that Moscow intends to take the rest of eastern Ukraine, which it has seized and occupied.
What's confirmed
What's still developing
- It is not yet clear exactly what they are, but an announcement is expected in the coming weeks, as efforts to end the war in Ukraine gather pace.
- It will be to the first trip by US President Donald Trump's top negotiators to Ukraine's capital.
- Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have agreed to halt strikes on each other's capitals for three days.
- Kremlin foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov said that “a whole series of ideas for a peace settlement” had been formulated during the talks, which he described to reporters as “substantive, very frank and constructive”.
- Witkoff told Putin that the US president had sent his best wishes and thanked him for the limited ceasefire during the delegation’s visit.
- During the talks, Al Jazeera’s Yulia Shapovalova, reporting from Moscow, said there were “some more or less optimistic reports” from the Kremlin regarding the progress of the discussions.
- On the one hand, Putin says he “remains publicly open to peace talks”, said Shapovalova.
- “From now through the end of Saturday, as well as on Sunday and Monday, Ukraine is ready to refrain from strikes on Moscow,” Zelenskyy said on social media.