US President Donald Trump’s efforts to broker an end to the war in Ukraine are moving into a new phase, with his top negotiators preparing for talks in Kyiv after holding a lengthy meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected in the Ukrainian capital on Sunday, following three hours of closed-door discussions with Putin on Saturday.
The White House said the US envoys and the Russian president discussed substantive plans for the next steps in the peace process, although the details of the proposals have not yet been made public.
The meetings in Moscow were described by Putin’s adviser, Yuri Ushakov, as constructive and extremely frank, signalling cautious progress in diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.
Ushakov said the discussions went beyond the war itself to include economic issues and potential major projects that could be mutually beneficial to Russia and the United States.
He also said the Russian side raised the issue of what it described as the Russian army’s advances on the battlefield and maintained that any settlement should address what Moscow considers the “root causes” of the conflict.
The planned visit to Kyiv will mark the first trip by Witkoff and Kushner, regarded as Trump’s leading negotiators on the war, to Ukraine’s capital.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has indicated his readiness for substantive engagement, saying he was prepared for meaningful discussions as diplomatic activity intensified.
The latest diplomatic push comes against the backdrop of continued attacks between Russia and Ukraine, despite an agreement by Putin and Zelensky to suspend strikes on each other’s capitals for three days.
Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, have intensified in recent months, while Ukraine has targeted Russian economic infrastructure, particularly oil installations.
Ukraine has said its ability to defend against ballistic missile attacks has been constrained by shortages of interceptor missiles, increasing pressure on Kyiv as negotiations take place.
On the ground, Russia continues to control roughly one-fifth of Ukrainian territory, including areas seized during the major escalation of the conflict in 2022. However, Russian territorial advances have generally been slow and have come at a heavy cost in casualties.
The upcoming US mission to Kyiv is therefore expected to provide an opportunity for Washington to hear directly from the Ukrainian leadership following its discussions with Moscow and potentially narrow differences over the terms of a settlement.
Witkoff and Kushner have travelled to Russia several times as part of the US diplomatic initiative, but their journey from Moscow to Kyiv presents logistical challenges because Ukrainian airspace has remained closed to normal air travel since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
While both Moscow and Washington have described the latest talks positively, the precise content of any proposed peace framework remains unclear.
The US administration is expected to provide further details in the coming weeks as it seeks to build momentum towards an agreement capable of bringing an end to the conflict.
