Met with Putin yesterday, Zelenskyy today

Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff arrived in Kyiv on Sunday, a day after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. The two U.S. envoys were scheduled to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later in the day.

Their trip comes as Washington seeks to revive negotiations aimed at ending Europe’s worst conflict since World War II. The summer has been marked by rising tensions, but the envoys say they are working toward a possible plan. A U.S. official told AFP that the talks with Putin covered the next steps, with a plan expected to be presented in the coming weeks.

Yuri Ushakov, an aide to the Russian government, described the Moscow discussions as exceptionally candid. He said the Americans had presented several ideas for possible ways to end the war. Putin, speaking in a television interview, thanked U.S. President Donald Trump for continuing efforts to end the conflict.

Referring to the envoys’ trip to Kyiv, Putin said: “Whatever happens next, contacts of this kind are undoubtedly always beneficial.”

The visit was Kushner and Witkoff’s eighth trip to Moscow during the war, but their first to the Ukrainian capital, which has faced deadly Russian attacks throughout the conflict. Russia and Ukraine have pledged not to attack each other’s capitals for three days while the negotiations take place. Zelenskyy said Ukraine was ready to hold back attacks on Moscow through Saturday night, as well as on Sunday and Monday.

The pause did not stop fighting elsewhere. Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched an overnight attack involving 108 drones and missiles, while Moscow said it had shot down 258 drones.

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Whatever happens next, contacts of this kind are undoubtedly always beneficial.