US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Sunday as part of high-stakes negotiations aimed at reviving peace talks in the war between Ukraine and Russia. The meeting comes after a three-hour discussion between Putin and US representatives, and marks Washington's most direct effort to revive peace talks since February. A temporary truce was agreed upon for the envoys' safe passage into Kyiv, but intense combat continues along the 1,200km front line, with at least eight civilians killed and nearly 70 injured in the past 24 hours. The US team has expressed "very encouraged" by the dialogue with Putin's team, but no concrete breakthroughs have been announced from previous talks or this meeting so far.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-07,
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same event (that is the story summary below).
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.
US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Kyiv on Sunday for high-stakes negotiations with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, capping a high-wire weekend of shuttle diplomacy aimed at breaking a long-standing stalemate in the war.
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envoys → arrive → war
The diplomatic mission follows a three-hour meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Moscow a day earlier, and represents Washington’s most direct effort to revive peace talks since the outbreak of the US-Iran war in February.
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mission → follow → February
The trip marks the American envoys’ first official visit to the Ukrainian capital after traveling by train from Poland, having previously made eight visits to Moscow.
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trip → mark → Moscow
While details of the discussions have not yet been made public, Witkoff said the US team had been “very encouraged” by what he described as “substantive, important” dialogue in a statement made to reporters after the first round of discussions.
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he → make → discussions
White House officials added that the envoys discussed “plans for next steps”, with a formal announcement anticipated in the coming weeks.
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envoys → add → weeks
The delegation’s arrival has brought with it a temporary three-day agreement between Moscow and Kyiv to pause air strikes targeting each other’s capitals through to the end of Tuesday.
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arrival → bring → Tuesday
The localised truce allowed the American emissaries to travel safely into Kyiv where Zelensky greeted Witkoff and Kushner in Sophia Square – just hundreds of metres from where Ukraine’s SBU intelligence headquarters were struck by a Russian drone on Friday – before hosting them at Saint Sophia Cathedral for bilateral talks.
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headquarters → allow → talks
In spite of the brief lull over Kyiv and Moscow, however, intense combat continued unabated along the 1,200km front line, with Ukrainian authorities reporting at least eight civilians were killed and nearly 70 injured over the previous 24 hours.
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70 → continue → hours
Russian air defences claimed to have intercepted 258 Ukrainian drones across 14 regions in the same period.
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defences → claim → period
Ukrainian forces launched deep drone strikes overnight against the Ryazan oil refinery roughly 300 miles inside Russia, sparking a major fire at the facility.
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forces → launch → facility
Russian retaliation has since pounded regional Ukrainian targets outside the capital and claimed missile strikes against two commercial cargo vessels near Odesa on Sunday, alleging they were transporting Western military supplies through the Black Sea.
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they → pound → Sea
The ongoing violence underscores the severe friction surrounding the negotiation efforts.
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violence → underscore → efforts
During Saturday’s discussions at the Kremlin, foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov stated that Putin presented a comprehensive assessment of the battlefield, expressed complete confidence in Russian advances, and insisted that any lasting peace must address the “root causes” of the conflict.
Mr Ushakov characterised the talks as constructive and candid, noting that discussions also touched on potential long-term economic cooperation between Washington and Moscow, although no concrete breakthroughs were announced.
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breakthroughs → state → Washington
Previous talks were stalled over Russian refusal to compromise on its demand for Ukraine’s total withdrawal from fortified towns in the Donbas and Kyiv’s formal renunciation of Nato membership.
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talks → stall → membership
The Kremlin’s uncompromising tone appears largely unchanged, further underscored by foreign minister Sergei Lavrov’s warning that German accusations over a foiled airport drone plot mark what is “by and large the start of a real war”.
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what → appear → war
Accusing Berlin of escalating direct confrontation, the aggressive rhetoric highlights a widening rift between Moscow and European capitals even as US mediators seek common ground.
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mediators → accuse → ground
In Kyiv, Ukrainian officials have expressed firm limits on what concessions they would consider.
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they → express → concessions
Citing the extent of Russian losses, foreign minister Andrii Sybiha has argued that Moscow is in “no position” to dictate peace terms.
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Moscow → cite → terms
The talks come just weeks ahead of forecasted temperature drops, with Ukrainian authorities racing to fortify municipal heating systems and shore up power generation before autumn cold sets in.
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cold → come → generation
A significant portion of Sunday’s talks in Kyiv are believed to have centred on Ukraine’s urgent winter energy needs following previous Russian strikes that destroyed 9GW of power generation, with national security advisers from the UK, France, and Germany expected to join expanded discussions focused on coordinating long-term energy and security guarantees.
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advisers → believe → guarantees
