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Donald Trump sends special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Russia and Ukraine to negotiate a peace deal. The two men, who have been leading US efforts to broker a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, will visit Moscow on Saturday and then head to Kyiv, Ukraine's capital city, on Sunday for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump has suggested that the US has a new proposal aimed at ending the war, which is now in its fifth year, but did not elaborate on what it entails.
Zelensky confirms he will meet with Witkoff and Kushner, saying that they "are bringing with them a proposal to end the war." The Ukrainian president also guaranteed the safety of Russian airspace during their visit. In a related development, Trump has been critical of Europe for not paying its share of military aid to Ukraine, suggesting that European nations should repay the US for past assistance.
The news comes as tensions between Russia and Ukraine remain high, with both sides accusing each other of violating a ceasefire agreement. The fate of the peace talks is uncertain, but the fact that Trump has sent his top envoys to the region suggests that he is serious about finding a solution to the conflict.
Written for “Trump's Peace Efforts in Ukraine” on 2026-09-07,
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Donald Trump has sent his 'personal regards' to Volodymyr Zelensky as 'substantive' talks between US negotiators and the Ukrainian president get under way.
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talks → see → way
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were joined by British, French and German security advisers as peace talks were held following negotiations with Russia on Saturday.
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talks → join → Saturday
Mr Witkoff said: 'I would say that we've had very meaningful discussions.
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we → say → discussions
'And we have been very encouraged and we look forward to continuing this day as long as it takes.'
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it → look → day
Mr Kushner added that the US president asked the peacemakers to convey his 'personal regards' to his Ukrainian counterpart.
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president → add → counterpart
The envoy also thanked British national security adviser Jonathan Powell for his role in the talks.
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envoy → thank → talks
Mr Kushner also said he hoped his first trip to Ukraine for talks on ending the war with Russia would lead to 'new ways to advance' peace.
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trip → say → peace
'Hopefully this trip has come out with some new ways to advance forward.
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trip → come → ways
I think we've learned a lot from the trip,' Kushner said after holding talks with Ukrainian Mr Zelensky.
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Kushner → think → Zelensky
It has been reported that a senior Ukrainian official said two rounds of talks had now taken place as a third meeting with European security advisers including the UK, France and Germany gets under way.
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meeting → report → way
The conversation is thought to centre around 'how to get through the winter and what can be done before then'.
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what → think → winter
Mr Witkoff and Mr Kushner arrive at a railway station in Kyiv ahead of peace talks with Mr Zelensky on Sunday
The US envoys were pictured with the Ukrainian president as the arrived following talks with Putin in Moscow yesterday
Donald Trump's son-in-law Mr Kushner embraces Mr Zelensky with a hug as the US negotiators arrive in Kyiv
Their visit to Kyiv on Saturday comes after Russia continued to pound Ukraine with fresh strikes overnight despite promising to pause its attacks.
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Russia → arrive → attacks
Vladimir Putin had said he wouldn't launch drones on Kyiv for 72 hours from midnight last night.
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he → say → midnight
But Russia has continued to launch drones on other parts of the country such as Zaporizhzhia where a 74-year-old man was killed and three others were injured.
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others → continue → Zaporizhzhia
The Ukrainian air force has said Russia launched a total of 108 drones overnight, with 82 shot down.
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82 → say → drones
Russian drones reportedly hit 11 locations across Ukraine in the attacks.
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drones → hit → attacks
Mr Witkoff and Mr Kushner have now landed in Ukraine for negotiations with Mr Zelensky after arriving on a train dubbed the 'peace express'.
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Witkoff → land → train
Meanwhile British, French and German national security advisers are in Kyiv on Sunday, ahead of talks between the US and Ukraine, a source has claimed.
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source → claim → US
The person, cited by Reuters as being familiar with the matter, did not specify which meetings the advisers would participate in.
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advisers → cite → meetings
Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Jared Kushner, Steve Witkoff and members of negotiating groups visit the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv
Mr Putin met with Mr Witkoff and Mr Kushner for closed-door talks on Saturday
The trip comes after the peace envoys conducted top-secret talks with Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday
Mr Zelensky has confirmed that European security advisers will join the talks.
It comes as Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov warns Nato of 'the start of a real war' after Germany accused the Kremlin of being behind the attempted drone attack on Leipzig Airport on August 4.
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Germany → negotiate → August
He added that Friedrich Merz is 'in effect, declaring war on us' after the chancellor's previous statements about 'making Germany the leading military power in Europe once again'.
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Germany → add → Europe
It comes after the peace envoys conducted top-secret talks with Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday.
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envoys → come → Saturday
Mr Witkoff and Mr Kushner spent over three hours negotiating amid Donald Trump's renewed bid to end the war.
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Witkoff → spend → war
Mr Putin met with Mr Witkoff and Mr Kushner for closed-door talks where he described the conflict as a 'complicated situation', but praised his American counterpart for wanting to end the war.
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he → meet → war
'Understanding that he is entering a difficult situation, he nevertheless does not stop his efforts to help bring about a settlement and to make his contribution to resolving the Russian-Ukrainian conflict,' Mr Putin said of Mr Trump.
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Putin → understand → Trump
Afterward, Mr Putin's foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov described the talks as constructive, frank and useful to journalists, but didn't discuss specific outcomes.
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adviser → describe → outcomes
He said Moscow offered its 'comprehensive assessment' of the battlefield situation in Ukraine, but also that the conversation was not purely focused on Russia's invasion.
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conversation → say → invasion
'Economic issues and potentially large, mutually beneficial joint projects for Russia and America were discussed in considerable detail,' Mr Ushakov said.
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Ushakov → discuss → detail
Following the top-secret talks, Trump's negotiators thanked Mr Putin for protecting them while on their visit to the Kremlin, adding that they made 'incredible memories' with the Russian leader on Saturday.
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they → follow → Saturday
They told Mr Putin that Mr Trump had sent his 'best wishes' and that the US president was grateful that Mr Putin agreed to temporarily cease attacks ahead of their visit to Kyiv today.
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Putin → tell → Kyiv
Mr Putin and Zelensky both agreed to pause strikes on each other's capitals while the talks took place.
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talks → agree → place
'Putin has ordered that no strikes be carried out against Kyiv for three days, starting at midnight today,' presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russia's Tass news agency.
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Peskov → order → agency
Zelensky said Ukraine was prepared to halt strikes on Moscow until Monday.
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Ukraine → say → Monday
He said he spoke on Saturday afternoon with the US delegation after their arrival in Moscow.
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he → say → Moscow
'From now through the end of Saturday, as well as on Sunday and Monday, Ukraine is ready to refrain from strikes on Moscow, and we expect the Russians to do the same regarding Kyiv,' he said.
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he → refrain → Kyiv
Washington's push to end the fighting has lost momentum as US attention has been focused for the past six months on the Iran war.
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attention → end → war
'I sent Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, two great negotiators.
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I → send → Witkoff
They've done a great job, and we sent them over to see whether or not we can get something done.
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something → do → them
And there may be a good chance that we'll do it,' Mr Trump said.
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Trump → say → it
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said he was prepared to halt strikes on Moscow until Monday
Vladimir Putin continued to target other parts of Ukraine overnight despite agreeing to a pause in attacks on Kyiv for 72 hours
Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner (left) and US envoy Steve Witkoff (second from left) meet Putin at the Kremlin
'
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Kushner → say → Kremlin
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