Trump’s envoys arrive in Kyiv as Russia and Ukraine keep attacking despite pledge to pause strikes

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Kyiv by train after meeting Vladimir Putin in Moscow, as Russia and Ukraine continued exchanging attacks despite promises to pause strikes on their capitals during the talks.

The U.S. president’s special representatives met separately in Kyiv with presidential chief of staff Kyrylo Budanov, first deputy head of the presidential administration Serhii Kyslytsia, Foreign Intelligence Service chief Rustem Umerov and parliamentary faction leader David Arakhamia. Volodymyr Zelenskyy had said Ukraine wanted the most constructive and meaningful discussions possible with the American envoys.

Witkoff and Kushner met Putin on Saturday. The White House said they discussed concrete steps to follow in the peace negotiations, but it has not disclosed what those plans involve. U.S. officials expect details could emerge in the coming weeks. The Kyiv visit was the envoys’ first to Ukraine since Russia began its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

The diplomatic effort unfolded alongside another night of attacks. Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said one person died and at least 10 were injured in Russian strikes on several regions. A drone killed a 74-year-old man and injured three people in Zaporizhzhia, while another drone damaged a residential building and injured seven people in the Khmelnytskyi region.

Ukraine’s air force said it had intercepted 82 of 108 drones launched by Russia overnight, as well as six missiles. In Russia’s border Belgorod region, local authorities said a Ukrainian drone struck a vehicle, killing a man and seriously injuring a woman. Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down 258 Ukrainian drones over 14 regions, Crimea, and the Black and Azov seas. Air attacks have intensified as forces struggle to advance along the 1,250-kilometer front line, while air raid sirens have become part of daily life in Kyiv.