U.S. envoy says ‘substantial progress’ was made during Russia and Ukraine visits

The U.S. special envoy said recent visits to Moscow and Kyiv produced “substantial progress,” highlighting new efforts to address the conflict while signaling that diplomacy remains unfinished.

The envoy pointed to significant advances in the latest conversations and said new proposals had been presented. The proposals could serve as a basis for future negotiations, although the source gives no further details about their content.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy struck a more pessimistic note, anticipating a winter marked by continued fighting. That expectation underscores the distance between the diplomatic activity described by the U.S. envoy and the conflict’s likely immediate course.

The Kremlin, meanwhile, has not ruled out trilateral talks. The possibility of negotiations involving the United States, Russia and Ukraine remains open, even as the prospect of further combat continues to shape expectations.