Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are heading to Kyiv for the first time in their roles as Donald Trump’s peace envoys to Ukraine, after talks on Saturday in Moscow.
asserted
Witkoff → head → Moscow
The White House said Witkoff and Kushner had “discussed substantive plans for next steps” towards ending the war between Ukraine and Russia during their meeting on Saturday in Moscow with Vladimir Putin.
asserted
Witkoff → say → Putin
Those steps would be announced in “coming weeks”, a White House official said in a statement, and the envoys “look forward to equally productive meetings tomorrow [Sunday] in Ukraine”.
asserted
envoys → announce → Ukraine
A Kremlin aide gave no indication of there being a breakthrough towards a deal to end the war.
asserted
aide → give → war
The aide, Yuri Ushakov, said Witkoff and Kushner “outlined a number of ideas regarding possible avenues for a settlement” in more than three hours of “highly useful” talks.
asserted
Witkoff → say → talks
He said Putin had told the pair that Russia was making “real progress” on the battlefield and was confident of achieving its goals, while stressing the necessity of addressing “all the root causes of the conflict”.
asserted
Russia → say → conflict
These are statements that Moscow has made repeatedly since Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
asserted
Putin → make → February
Both sides have intensified long-range airstrikes in recent weeks while the frontlines remain largely static.
asserted
frontlines → intensify → weeks
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Russian attacks on Kyiv and Boryspil international airports – which service the Ukrainian capital – were “clearly” a reaction to the US negotiators flying to Kyiv after the talks in Moscow.
asserted
which → say → Moscow
Zelenskyy on Saturday said Kyiv had “taken note of this Russian move, and next week we will adjust our operation accordingly regarding Russian airspace, which has become dangerous because of our drones and missiles in the sky.
asserted
which → say → sky
Officials visiting Ukraine have largely done so by train, as Ukrainian airspace has been closed since 2022 due to the war.
asserted
airspace → visit → war
Russia and Ukraine had vowed not to strike each other’s capitals for three days during the negotiations, as Washington tries to revive US-led talks to end Europe’s worst conflict since the second world war.
asserted
Washington → vow → war
Donald Trump suggested on Friday he had a new proposal to end the war, without providing any details.
uncertain
he → suggest → details
Trump made ending the war a priority early in his second term, but little has changed so far.
asserted
little → make → term
Trump said his son-in-law Kushner and business ally Witkoff were bringing “a proposal to end the war”.
asserted
Kushner → say → war
“Dear colleagues, I warmly welcome you to Moscow.
asserted
I → welcome → Moscow
The situation is, of course, not simple,” Putin told the envoys in a grand Kremlin hall in footage aired by Russian TV.
asserted
Putin → tell → TV
“But before we begin to address it, I would like to ask everyone to convey their best wishes and words of gratitude to US president Mr Trump.”
asserted
I → begin → Trump
The grinding war, launched by Russia in 2022, has brought increasing civilian deaths and attacks this summer.
asserted
war → grind → deaths
Putin has repeatedly said Moscow intends to seize the rest of east Ukraine.
asserted
Moscow → say → Ukraine
The war has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions.
asserted
war → kill → millions
Russian strikes on Ukraine on Saturday had killed at least seven people, including in the Kyiv suburbs, Ukrainian officials said.
asserted
officials → kill → suburbs
The Kremlin said it would not strike Kyiv from midnight on Saturday, while the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said he would halt strikes on Moscow until Monday.
asserted
he → say → Monday
Zelenskyy said he had spoken to the US officials and expected them in Kyiv on Sunday.
asserted
he → say → Sunday
Large gaps remain between Russia and Ukraine on how to end the war.
asserted
gaps → remain → war
On Friday, the Kremlin said it was sticking by the position Putin set out two years earlier: that Ukraine should give up four regions claimed by Russia and not join Nato.
asserted
Ukraine → say → Nato
As peace efforts have floundered in recent months, with US attention turned to its war with Iran, the conflict has intensified.
asserted
conflict → flounder → Iran
Ground troops have been locked in a grinding stalemate along the 775-mile (1,250km) frontline with little advance on either side.
asserted
troops → lock → side
Both sides have intensified their aerial attacks in recent weeks, hitting increasingly distant targets.
asserted
sides → intensify → targets
Ukraine has carried out long-range strikes on Russian military facilities, oil refineries and e-commerce warehouses, to try to degrade Russia’s war effort and economy.
asserted
Ukraine → carry → effort
Its strikes on Russian oil refineries have led to fuel shortages and rising prices at the petrol pumps.
asserted
strikes → lead → pumps
On Friday, a Russian drone hit the headquarters of Ukraine’s SBU security service, one of the agencies responsible for carrying out deep-strike operations in Russia.
asserted
drone → hit → Russia
Zelenskyy vowed to retaliate.
asserted
Zelenskyy → vow → ?
Russia has also increased its attacks on Kyiv and other cities with waves of bombardments, stretching Ukraine’s air defences.
asserted
Russia → increase → defences
Russia on Friday night struck the Kyiv suburbs, reportedly killing two people in the Bucha district.
uncertain
Russia → strike → district
An attack on the Dnipro region killed five people and wounded five more at a factory, according to the local military administration head, Oleksandr Hanzha.
He said those killed were employees working at the factory who were “doing their job when enemy missiles cut off their lives”.
uncertain
missiles → kill → lives
A 62-year-old man was injured and several homes and a building were damaged in another attack on the region’s Nikopol district, Hanzha said.
asserted
Hanzha → injure → district
Russia also struck a shopping centre in the southern Mykolaiv region with drones overnight, damaging the building and injuring a 72-year-old man and a 17-year-old girl.
asserted
Russia → strike → man
Emergency services said they were repeatedly forced to withdraw because of the threat of more strikes.
asserted
they → say → strikes
The Aporia
