US peace envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff arrived in Kyiv for the first time as negotiators and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The administration of US President Donald Trump is trying to resume the process of settling the Russian-Ukrainian war. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Reuters.
The US representatives came to the Ukrainian capital from Moscow. The day before, they held three-hour talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but according to the agency, the parties failed to achieve a noticeable breakthrough.
Putin called the meeting "very useful." A White House representative told Reuters that Washington will announce further steps in the coming weeks.
Earlier, Trump said that the US had prepared a new proposal to end the war, but did not disclose its contents. Previous rounds of negotiations mediated by Washington did not lead to significant results.
In central Kyiv, Kushner and Witkoff met with Zelensky and other senior Ukrainian officials. Before their arrival, the Ukrainian president held a separate meeting with his negotiating team.
"We are ready for the conversation. Ukraine has always been and will be constructive. We are interested in the earliest possible end of the war. Peace is needed. Security guarantees are needed. A decent nature of the post-war world is needed. Our proposals are ready," Zelensky said.
In his opinion, the possibility of achieving a peace agreement remains until next summer, when US attention will begin to shift to the next presidential election.
On Sunday, national security advisers from the UK, France, and Germany were also in Kyiv. However, it is unknown which specific meetings they will participate in.
One of the main obstacles in the negotiations remains the territorial issue, including the future of Donbas. Russia demands the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from areas controlled by Kyiv, but the Ukrainian side refuses to fulfill this condition.
Another key issue for Kyiv remains security guarantees from the US and European allies. Ukrainian authorities believe they should exclude the possibility of resumption of hostilities after the agreement is concluded.
For Kushner and Witkoff, this trip was their first visit to Kyiv as American negotiators. However, they have already visited Moscow several times to discuss a possible end to the war.
Some residents of the Ukrainian capital expressed cautious hope for the results of the meeting.
"The problem can be solved in an instant. We want peace. I fought myself, so I know what war is. We need peace because there is no other way," veteran Stepan Yermak told Reuters.
The visit of the American delegation takes place against the background of a temporary suspension of mutual strikes on capitals. The Kremlin said that Russian troops will not attack Kyiv until Monday. Zelensky, in turn, announced the cessation of Ukrainian strikes on Moscow for this period.
At the same time, hostilities along the front line, which is about 1.2 thousand km long, have not stopped. Russia continued to strike other Ukrainian cities.
In recent weeks, both sides have intensified long-range attacks. Russia regularly uses missiles and drones against Ukraine. On Friday, the headquarters of the Security Service of Ukraine in Kyiv was hit.
Ukraine, in turn, continues to attack Russian oil infrastructure. On Sunday, the Ukrainian side announced a strike on the Ryazan oil refinery, located about 480 km from the border with Ukraine. After the attack, a fire started on the territory of the enterprise.
The official results of Zelensky's negotiations with US representatives had not been announced at the time of publication.