White House envoys arrive in Ukraine for talks with Zelenskyy

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Kyiv after visiting the Kremlin the previous day to present Vladimir Putin with a proposal aimed at ending the war. It was the first visit to Ukraine by the White House special envoy and the U.S. president’s son-in-law since Donald Trump began his second term.

Ukraine’s presidential office welcomed the two envoys in a message on Telegram and said coordination would continue on the next steps toward ending the war. Images released by Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office showed the full Ukrainian negotiating team greeting Witkoff and Kushner at Kyiv’s railway station.

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We have been waiting for Steve and Jared for a long time.

Chief of staff Kyrylo Budanov, Foreign Intelligence Service chief Rustem Umerov, ruling Servant of the People party leader David Arakhamia and First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Serhii Kyslytsia were among those who welcomed the American delegation. The group later traveled to Sofia Square, where Zelenskyy received them.

“We have been waiting for Steve and Jared for a long time,” Zelenskyy told the television channel TSN. He said the first meeting would bring together the American and Ukrainian teams, followed by another session with European partners. He did not specify which European Union countries would take part or at what level.

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Excellent.

Witkoff described his trip to Kyiv as “excellent.” Zelenskyy said the envoys had been unable to arrive by plane because “the Russians did not allow the guests to arrive by air,” despite a halt in attacks on the capital until Monday.

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The Russians did not allow the guests to arrive by air.

The two American negotiators had previously traveled to Moscow several times but had not visited Kyiv, leaving Zelenskyy and his team to travel to the United States or other countries for meetings. Their last meeting took place in Miami in late March. Zelenskyy also met Trump twice in July, at the NATO summit and in the Oval Office.

The peace dialogue has remained stalled for more than six months because of the war involving the United States and Iran and the inability of Russia and Ukraine to bridge their differences. Before the envoys arrived, Zelenskyy wrote online: “We are ready for dialogue.” He added that Ukraine had always been and would remain constructive.

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We are ready for dialogue.