US envoys meet Putin then Zelenskyy as Ukraine talks resume

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Russian President Vladimir Putin for more than three hours in Moscow on Saturday before traveling to Kyiv on Sunday to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The sequence marks the latest step in Washington’s effort to revive negotiations to end the war that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov described the Moscow session as constructive, frank and highly useful. He said the envoys outlined ideas on possible settlement avenues and that the discussion also covered economic issues and potential joint Russian-American projects. Ushakov added that Putin noted real progress on the battlefield and the need to address root causes of the conflict. A White House official called the talks substantive and said next steps would be announced in coming weeks.

Putin ordered Russian forces not to strike Kyiv for three days during the envoys’ visit. Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine remains ready for coordinated, substantive talks and requires security guarantees for any postwar arrangement. Both sides had agreed to pause strikes on each other’s capitals, yet overnight exchanges continued, with Ukrainian forces reporting strikes on a Ryazan oil refinery and a Rostov airfield while Russian drones and missiles hit multiple Ukrainian sites.

Front lines have remained largely static despite intensified long-range strikes by both sides in recent weeks. Russia controls roughly one-fifth of Ukraine and continues to demand that Kyiv cede four regions and forgo NATO membership. Ukraine rejects those terms. No breakthrough was announced after the Moscow meeting, and the two sides’ positions remain far apart.