U.S. Envoys Witkoff and Kushner Arrive in Kyiv for Diplomatic Talks Amid Truce
U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and former White House adviser Jared Kushner landed in Kyiv for meetings with President Zelensky, following talks with President Putin in Moscow, as a limited cease-fire holds between the capitals.
U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and former White House adviser Jared Kushner arrived in Kyiv on Sunday, the first time they have visited the Ukrainian capital since the war began. Their trip follows intensive talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and coincides with a 72-hour temporary truce that halts air strikes on Kyiv and Moscow.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine is ready for negotiations and emphasized the need for peace, security guarantees and a dignified post-war settlement. He posted on Telegram that “Ukraine has always been and will continue to be constructive.”
Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Office of the Ukrainian Presidency, noted that officials from France, the United Kingdom and Germany were also in Kyiv for discussions, adding that “we have a busy day ahead of us, filled with important talks.”
The U.S. envoys stopped briefly in Rzeszow, Poland, before continuing to Kyiv, where they are expected to travel by rail. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov described the meeting with Putin as “useful” and said the American team had prepared seriously, expressing interest in ending hostilities quickly and presenting “a whole series of considerations regarding possible paths to a settlement.”
A White House official said both sides discussed substantive plans for next steps that will be announced in the coming weeks. Despite the truce over the capitals, Russian forces launched 108 Shahed-type drones elsewhere in Ukraine, killing 10 civilians and injuring 65 in the past 24 hours, while three people died in recent strikes on the Kyiv region.