Month: September 2026

President Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Kyiv on Sunday for diplomatic talks aimed at resuming negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

Why it matters: Kushner and Witkoff traveled to Kyiv right after talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. This is Witkoff and Kushner’s first trip to Ukraine despite months of negotiating with both sides and multiple trips to Russia.

• Sunday also marked the highest-level visit by a U.S. official to Ukraine since Trump started his second term.

Driving the news: U.S. and Russian officials offered positive assessments of Kushner and Witkoff’s three-hour meeting with Putin on Saturday.

• “Kushner and Witkoff are making an effort, and we are making progress,” a Russian official said.
• A White House official said Witkoff, Kushner and Putin discussed “plans for next steps, which will be announced in the coming weeks.”
• Witkoff, Kushner and their team left Moscow on Saturday night, landed several hours later in Poland, and then traveled by land to Kyiv.

Zoom in: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed Ukrainian preparations for continuing the war through the winter, a source familiar with the meetings said. Kushner and Witkoff stressed they want a breakthrough before winter, the source said.

• Zelensky later confirmed that the possibility of the war continuing through the winter was discussed.
• “We very much hope that we will be able to reach agreements with our American partners, and we are counting on the support of our European partners if the war continues in winter — and this is how it appears at the moment,” he said.
• Witkoff and Kushner met twice with Zelensky and his senior advisers. National security advisers from the U.K., France and Germany joined a third meeting.

• After the second meeting with Zelensky, Trump’s envoys said they were “encouraged by the substantive discussion” and looked forward to making more progress.

What they’re saying: A second source who participated in Sunday’s talks said the meetings “went well” and that Kushner and Witkoff want to work with the parties on a “refreshed” peace proposal.

• “Things may move in a good direction if there’s a follow-up by all parties involved,” the source said.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional details throughout.