U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were scheduled to arrive in Kyiv on Sunday after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, the Associated Press reported. The trip would be their first visit to the Ukrainian capital in the renewed U.S. effort to mediate Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine. The Moscow session lasted more than three hours behind closed doors.
Putin adviser Yuri Ushakov characterized the talks as constructive, frank and useful but announced no breakthrough and provided few specifics. He said Russia gave a broad assessment of the battlefield and that the discussion also covered possible economic projects involving Russia and the United States. The private format leaves the proposals, concessions and disputed points outside the public record.
The diplomatic movement unfolded alongside continued attacks. Ukrainian officials said Russian strikes across several regions killed one person and injured at least ten overnight. Ukraine’s Air Force reported intercepting 82 of 108 Russian drones and six missiles. Russian authorities reported that a Ukrainian drone hit a vehicle in the Belgorod region, killing a man and seriously wounding a woman.
Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had agreed to pause strikes on each other’s capitals during the talks, but the limited arrangement did not halt combat elsewhere. Russia’s Defense Ministry said its defenses shot down 258 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions, occupied Crimea and nearby seas. The claims from both governments describe separate sides of a continuing long-range campaign.
Washington’s latest initiative follows months in which mediation slowed while U.S. attention shifted toward the Iran conflict. The existing record shows access to both governments and a scheduled Kyiv meeting, but it does not show agreement on territory, security guarantees, enforcement or a cease-fire. Statements following the Kyiv visit will indicate whether the envoys carried a proposal specific enough for either side to accept, reject or amend.