Story summary
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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,
grounded in this article and the 66 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it +0.35, but none of the 1 quote(s) it offered could be found in the article text, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 5973: no verified evidence · logged 2026-09-07
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said he and fellow emissary Jared Kushner held “important” talks Sunday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on ending the war with Russia — but offered no sign of a breakthrough.
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he → say → breakthrough
The envoys met with the Ukrainian leader on their first trip to Kyiv, a day after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin.
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envoys → meet → Kremlin
Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s business ally, and Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, have been to Moscow several times, but had never held talks in the Ukrainian capital — hit by deadly Russian strikes for more than four years.
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Witkoff → hold → years
“We’ve had a very meaningful discussion, substantive, important, and we are very encouraged and we look forward to continuing this as long as it takes,” Witkoff said after the talks.
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Witkoff → have → talks
“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 the meeting with Zelensky.
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Kushner → think → Zelensky
Witkoff and Kushner travelled to the region hoping to revive the Trump administration’s push for peace in Europe’s worst conflict since World War II, after a summer of escalation.
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Witkoff → travel → escalation
“We are grateful that the Europeans are with us today and that we are in such a coalition of countries,” Zelensky said.
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Zelensky → say → countries
Like all visiting officials, the American delegation arrived by train, with “Peace Express” written on the platform at Kyiv Central Station.
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Express → visit → Station
Zelensky said Kyiv had “prepared everything to make our airports operational”, but that Russian strikes made arriving by plane impossible.
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arriving → say → plane
Ukrainian airspace has been closed since Russia launched its invasion in 2022.
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Russia → close → 2022
Russia and Ukraine have vowed not to strike each other’s capitals during the U.S. envoys’ trip.
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Russia → vow → trip
Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions.
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invasion → kill → millions
A White House official said in a statement to AFP that in Moscow the envoys had “discussed substantive plans which will be announced in the coming weeks”.
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which → say → weeks
The Kremlin said the Americans “put forward a number of ideas on possible routes to a settlement”, but did not elaborate.
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Americans → say → settlement
Putin has repeatedly said Moscow intends to seize the rest of eastern Ukraine, and Russia increased deadly strikes this summer.
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Russia → say → strikes
Since Putin launched the invasion in February 2022, the war has dragged on with no end in sight.
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end → launch → sight
In Kyiv, many welcomed the fact the Americans even made it to Ukraine, but few believed in a breakthrough.
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few → welcome → breakthrough
Nataliia Lipekh, 67, said it was “absolutely necessary (for them) to be here” and to see that “our land is already soaked with this blood and that we need some help.”
“At the moment, I have no grounds for hope,” said 29-year-old Yaroslav, saying he had seen “far too many of these negotiation processes”.
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he → say → processes
‘Idea for peace’
Putin on Saturday told the U.S. envoys that Moscow would ensure their safety in Kyiv.
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Moscow → tell → Kyiv
Just days ago, Russia struck the headquarters of the SBU security building in central Kyiv.
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Russia → strike → Kyiv
Trump has said his envoys were bringing a “proposal” to end the fighting.
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envoys → say → fighting
“We have an idea for peace,” he said, without elaborating.
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he → have → peace
Undercutting Trump’s vow to end the war quickly, U.S. peace efforts have stalled, in part because of Washington’s war with Iran.
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efforts → undercut → Iran
‘Deceived us’
Despite the ceasefire pledges for the capital cities, fighting continued elsewhere.
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fighting → deceive → cities
Ukraine’s air force said Russia had attacked overnight with 108 drones and missiles, while Moscow said it had shot down 258 drones.
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it → say → drones
Ukraine said Saturday that 10 people were killed by Russian strikes, including an 11-year-old boy.
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people → say → boy
With the war in its fifth year and thousands dead, peace seemed out of reach for most.
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peace → seem → most
Yulia, a 41-year-old who came from a town now occupied by Russia and worked as a cleaner in Kyiv, said it was a “positive step” the Americans were in Kyiv.
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Americans → come → Kyiv
I can’t put my hopes on this, because for thousands of years they have deceived us with their empire and imperial habits,” she said, adding:
“We want to believe in it, but it’s very difficult.”
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it → put → it
