American envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Wittkoff met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv today, as the Trump administration intensifies its efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year and a half.
Kushner and Wittkoff traveled from Moscow, where they held three hours of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin the previous day, though no significant breakthrough in the conflict appeared to have been achieved.
Previous rounds of US-mediated talks, encouraged by President Donald Trump — who campaigned on a promise to quickly end the war — have yielded limited results.
President Trump hinted on Friday that the US had a new proposal, without disclosing further details.
President Putin described the previous day’s meeting as “extremely useful,” while a White House official told Reuters that next steps would be announced in the coming weeks.
The two envoys met with President Zelensky and other senior officials at a central location in Kyiv.
The national security advisers of Britain, France, and Germany were in Kyiv ahead of the talks with the American envoys, a source told Reuters.
In a post on X, Zelensky said earlier that he had met with Ukraine’s negotiating team ahead of the meeting with the US president’s envoys. “We are ready for the conversation. Ukraine has always been and will remain constructive,” the Ukrainian president wrote.
He emphasized that Kyiv is interested in accelerating the end of the war, while stressing that security guarantees and a post-war peace that upholds Ukraine’s dignity are essential.
A meeting with our negotiating team ahead of the meeting with the U.S. President’s envoys. We are ready for the conversation. Ukraine has always been and will remain constructive. We are interested in bringing the end of the war closer. Peace is needed. Security guarantees are… pic.twitter.com/WIqQKZfLAs
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September 6, 2026
“Our proposals are ready,” Zelensky says
Volodymyr Zelensky stated that the Ukrainian side has already prepared its proposals, emphasizing the need for talks to be conducted in a coordinated, substantive, and realistic manner.
“Peace is needed. Security guarantees are needed. A dignified character for the post-war peace is needed. Our proposals are ready,” he wrote.
The Ukrainian president concluded by underlining the importance of coordinated and substantive work, with a realistic approach to negotiations.
Kremlin: Wittkoff and Kushner presented Putin with “several ideas” for ending the war in Ukraine
Meanwhile, the Kremlin stated earlier that Russian President Vladimir Putin had held “extremely candid” talks with the American envoys regarding ways to end the war in Ukraine, with Steve Wittkoff and Jared Kushner presenting “a number of ideas” during the meeting, which lasted more than three hours.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters that the American envoys had prepared thoroughly for the visit, reaffirmed their interest in a swift end to hostilities, and presented “a number of ideas” on possible ways to resolve the conflict, without going into specifics.
“The conversation was constructive, extremely candid, and conducted in a spirit of trust,” Ushakov said. He also stated that Putin told the American envoys that Russian forces were making “progress” on the battlefield, expressing confidence in achieving the objectives set when the military operation began, and stressing the need to address the root causes of the conflict.
For his part, Kirill Dmitriev, President Putin’s special envoy, described the Wittkoff-Kushner trip to Moscow as “a significant peace visit.” Both Dmitriev and Ushakov were present at the meeting.
Wittkoff and Kushner made no comment and departed Moscow shortly after the conclusion of the Kremlin meeting. Their next stop is Kyiv, where they are set to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Putin praises Trump’s diplomatic efforts
At the opening of the talks at the Kremlin, the Russian president praised his American counterpart Donald Trump’s diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.
The US president hinted on Friday that he had a new proposal regarding a resolution to the conflict, without elaborating.
“He has not stopped his efforts to help reach an agreement and contribute to the resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict,” Putin said.
The Russian president pledged to ensure the safety of the American negotiators. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had stated earlier that Putin had ordered Russian armed forces not to target Kyiv for three days in light of the Trump envoys’ visit.
Similarly, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had stated that Kyiv would not launch attacks against Moscow until Monday.
