World | Deutsche Welle
· collected 2026-09-06 · by Akanksha Saxena, Nik Martin
US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Sunday as part of their first official visit to Ukraine, but no breakthrough was made towards ending the war. The talks focused on military aid, including Patriot missile systems, with Zelenskyy seeking "serious volumes" of support from the US and its European partners. Kushner acknowledged the challenge, saying the US is working to create conditions for a possible deal. The pair previously met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, where Putin declared a three-day ceasefire for their safety.
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.
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Leaning score withheld for article 6159: no verified evidence · logged 2026-09-07
US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held "encouraging" talks in Kyiv on Sunday during their first official visit to Ukraine, but made no breakthrough toward ending Russia’s war in Ukraine.
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envoys → hold → Ukraine
Despite the renewed diplomatic push, Moscow and Kyiv remain divided over key issues, particularly territorial concessions.
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Moscow → renew → issues
Kushner acknowledged the challenge, saying the US was working "behind the scenes" to create the conditions for a possible deal.
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US → acknowledge → deal
"It’s a very, very hard problem, but we’re going to try," Kushner said.
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Kushner → ’ → ?
As Ukraine's airspace remains closed due to the conflict, the pair arrived in Kyiv by train from Poland, having held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow a day earlier.
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pair → close → Moscow
Putin had declared a three-day ceasefire to ensure the envoys' safety.
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Putin → declare → safety
Zelenskyy: We will need a 'winter package'
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We → need → package
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held three rounds of talks with the US envoys, the final one joined by national security advisers from the United Kingdom, France and Germany.
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one → hold → Kingdom
After meeting with Witkoff and Kushner, Zelenskyy said the talks focused on military aid, including Patriot missile systems and other weapons Ukraine will need in the coming months.
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Ukraine → meet → months
He said Kyiv was seeking "serious volumes" of US support, with backing from its European partners.
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Kyiv → say → partners
"If the war drags on until winter — and that is how things currently look — we will need a 'winter package'," he said.
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he → drag → package
The Ukrainian president also expressed gratitude that representatives of European nations were in Kyiv.
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representatives → express → Kyiv
"Here we are all on the same side," he said.
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he → say → side
What did Russia say about Moscow talks?
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Russia → say → talks
Momentum by US President Donald Trump to end the four-and-a-half-year-old conflict has stalled in recent months after talks with Putin at the Kremlin in January failed to produce a result.
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talks → end → result
Putin's foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov described the Moscow talks as constructive, frank, and useful but didn't discuss specific outcomes.
Ushakov said the talks also focused on economic issues and potentially large Russia-US projects.
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talks → describe → issues
During previous talks, negotiators have struggled to bring both sides together on a range of key issues, including the future of the industrial Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.
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negotiators → struggle → Ukraine
Ukraine war escalating in recent months
For Ukraine, hard security guarantees from its European allies and Washington are crucial to deterring Russia from further aggression.
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guarantees → escalate → aggression
Kyrylo Budanov, Zelenskyy's chief of staff, told the New York Times last weekend that he did not expect the fighting to end before spring 2027.
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fighting → tell → spring
He also predicted further Russian strategic air strikes on Ukraine this winter.
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He → predict → Ukraine
The war has escalated in recent months, with Putin seeking the complete conquest of Donbas and Russian drones targeting the Ukrainian capital.
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drones → escalate → capital
Meanwhile, Ukraine has focused its drone attacks on Russia's energy sector.
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Ukraine → focus → sector
It has also targeted online retailers deep inside Russia to try and bring the war home to the public.
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It → target → public
Edited by: Darko Janjevic, Dmytro Hubenko
Don't let the algorithm hide the news.
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algorithm → edit → news
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you → rely → news
