US President Donald Trump’s top negotiators, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, are heading to Kyiv after holding three hours of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
The White House said the envoys discussed “substantive plans for next steps” with Putin during Saturday’s meeting in Moscow. Details of the proposals have not been made public, but US officials said they were hoping for “equally productive meetings” in Kyiv.
The visit will be the first by Trump’s lead negotiators to the Ukrainian capital since the full-scale Russian invasion began in February 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he is ready for “a substantive conversation” as diplomatic efforts to end the conflict gather pace.
The Moscow talks were held behind closed doors at Putin’s official residence in the Russian capital. His adviser, Yuri Ushakov, described the discussions as “constructive, extremely frank”.
He said the meeting covered more than the war, with economic issues and possible “major, mutually beneficial Russian-American projects” also discussed.
Ushakov said the talks also considered what Russia described as its recent advances on the battlefield and the need to address “the root causes of the conflict”.
Russia currently controls about one-fifth of Ukrainian territory, much of it seized during the early stages of the invasion in 2022. Russian forces have made slower advances in recent months while suffering heavy casualties, according to Western assessments.
The diplomatic push comes as both sides continue to launch attacks. Russia has intensified missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, while Ukraine has targeted Russian economic infrastructure, particularly oil facilities.
Ukraine says it is struggling to defend against ballistic missile attacks because of shortages of interceptor missiles.
Putin and Zelensky have agreed to halt strikes on each other’s capitals for three days, although it remains unclear how durable the arrangement will be.
Witkoff and Kushner have travelled to Russia several times during the negotiations. With Ukrainian airspace closed since 2022, their route from Moscow to Kyiv has not been disclosed.