US envoys make first Kyiv visit as Ukraine peace push continues

US peace envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff arrived in Kyiv for their first visit there as American negotiators, carrying a renewed push from the Trump administration to end Russia’s four-and-a-half-year war in Ukraine.

The two men travelled from Moscow, where they held three hours of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday. The meetings did not appear to produce a breakthrough. Putin called them “highly useful”, while a White House official said the next steps would be announced in the coming weeks.

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highly useful

Kushner and Witkoff met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other senior Ukrainian officials in central Kyiv. The visit followed several rounds of US-mediated negotiations that have produced few results. President Donald Trump, who campaigned on a promise to end the war quickly, said on Friday that Washington had a new proposal but did not explain it.

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Security guarantees are needed. A dignified post-war peace is needed. Our proposals have been drawn up.

Zelenskyy has said Washington will be crucial to any peace agreement and that an opportunity exists before the United States turns its attention to the next presidential elections next summer. Before the envoys arrived, he said Ukraine’s negotiating team had prepared its position. “Security guarantees are needed. A dignified post-war peace is needed. Our proposals have been drawn up,” he wrote on social media.

A source familiar with the matter said the national security advisers of Britain, France and Germany were also in Kyiv, although the source did not say which meetings they would attend. On Kyiv’s streets, some residents expressed cautious hope after weeks of heavy bombardment. Military veteran Stepan Yermak said: “The issue can be solved in the blink of an eye. We want peace. I've fought myself, so I know what war is like. We need peace, because there's no other way.” The sides remain far apart on major issues, including the future of the eastern Donbas region.

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The issue can be solved in the blink of an eye. We want peace. I've fought myself, so I know what war is like. We need peace, because there's no other way.