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U.S. envoys Witkoff and Kushner hold talks in Ukraine after meeting with Putin

From PBS NewsHour · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

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  • U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held talks in Kyiv with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as Washington renewed efforts to end Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
  • Zelenskyy said the goal was a “just, fair peace” that would prevent renewed aggression, while Witkoff called the discussions meaningful and encouraging.
  • The Kyiv talks followed a meeting with Vladimir Putin in Moscow that produced no announced breakthrough, while Russian and Ukrainian forces continued exchanging fire.

U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held what they called “encouraging” talks in Kyiv on Sunday, their first official visit to Ukraine as Washington renewed efforts to end more than four and a half years of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

The visit followed a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday. The diplomatic push has lost momentum as the Trump administration focused for the past six months on the war in Iran, while Russia and Ukraine intensified their aerial attacks. Russian forces have recently used fast-flying, jet-powered drones, and air-raid sirens have become a routine part of life in Kyiv. Neither side has made significant progress along the 1,250-kilometer front line.

encouraging

· Steve Witkoff and Jared KushnerThe U.S. envoys used the term to describe their talks in Kyiv.

After two rounds of talks, Zelenskyy said the objective was a “just, fair peace” that would ensure there was “never an opportunity to resume aggression against Ukraine.” He thanked the American negotiators for traveling to Kyiv by train and said Britain, France and Germany would join a later round through their national security advisers.

just, fair peace

· Volodymyr ZelenskyyZelenskyy described the peace objective after discussions with the U.S. envoys.

“We've had very meaningful discussion, substantive, important, and we're very encouraged,” Witkoff said. Kushner said Trump wanted not only to end the current war but also to create conditions for lasting peace. A senior Ukrainian official, speaking anonymously because he was not authorized to comment publicly, said much of the discussion addressed how to get through the winter and what could be done beforehand.

The Moscow meeting lasted more than three hours behind closed doors, but no major development was announced. Putin’s foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov, described it as constructive, frank and useful. He said the talks included a broad assessment of the battlefield and detailed discussions of economic issues and potentially large joint projects between Russia and the United States, not only the war in Ukraine.

never an opportunity to resume aggression against Ukraine

· Volodymyr ZelenskyyHe said a peace agreement should prevent renewed aggression.

Putin and Zelenskyy had agreed to pause strikes on each other’s capitals during the talks. Officials nevertheless said the two sides exchanged fire overnight into Sunday, and Russian attacks across several Ukrainian regions killed at least one person.

We've had very meaningful discussion, substantive, important, and we're very encouraged

· Steve WitkoffWitkoff assessed the Kyiv talks after meeting Zelenskyy.
About this summary

Originally published by PBS NewsHour. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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