U.S. envoys Witkoff and Kushner travel from Moscow to Kyiv in renewed Ukraine peace push

Witkoff and Kushner arrived in Kyiv on Sunday in their first official visit to Ukraine, completing a two-leg diplomatic trip that began at the Kremlin on Saturday. Zelensky met with his negotiating team ahead of the Americans' arrival and wrote on Telegram that Ukraine was "ready for talks" and that "our proposals are ready." He thanked President Trump for facilitating the visit "from a security standpoint," adding that Ukraine had been "waiting a long time" for it. Kyrylo Budanov, Head of the Office of the Ukrainian Presidency, noted that representatives from France, the United Kingdom, and Germany were also present in Kyiv, according to CNN.

Saturday's meeting at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin lasted more than three hours behind closed doors. Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov described the talks as "constructive, frank and useful" but disclosed no specific outcomes. He said Moscow provided the U.S. delegation with its "comprehensive assessment" of the battlefield, and that "economic issues and potentially large, mutually beneficial joint projects for Russia and America were discussed in considerable detail." A White House official said both sides discussed "substantive plans for next steps, which will be announced in the coming weeks."

The diplomatic effort came as the broader peace push had lost momentum. NPR and Fox News both noted that U.S. attention had shifted for the prior six months toward the war with Iran. Significant gaps between Moscow and Kyiv remain, Fox News reported, including Ukraine's refusal to withdraw from portions of eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions still under its control—a Russian demand Kyiv has rejected.