Witkoff and Kushner make first Kyiv visit for peace talks - Barak Ravid

 

by Barak Ravid

This is Witkoff and Kushner's first trip to Ukraine despite months of negotiating with both sides and multiple trips to Russia.

 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) welcomes Steve Witkoff (center) and Jared Kushner in Kyiv on Sunday ahead of talks on efforts to end the war with Russia. Photo: Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images

President Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Kyiv on Sunday for diplomatic talks aimed at resuming negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

Why it matters: Kushner and Witkoff traveled to Kyiv right after talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. This is Witkoff and Kushner's first trip to Ukraine despite months of negotiating with both sides and multiple trips to Russia.

• Sunday also marked the highest-level visit by a U.S. official to Ukraine since Trump started his second term.

Driving the news: U.S. and Russian officials offered positive assessments of Kushner and Witkoff's three-hour meeting with Putin on Saturday.

• "Kushner and Witkoff are making an effort, and we are making progress," a Russian official said.
• A White House official said Witkoff, Kushner and Putin discussed "plans for next steps, which will be announced in the coming weeks."
• Witkoff, Kushner and their team left Moscow on Saturday night, landed several hours later in Poland, and then traveled by land to Kyiv.

Zoom in: Zelensky discussed Ukrainian preparations for continuing the war through the winter, a source familiar with the meetings said. Kushner and Witkoff stressed they want a breakthrough before winter, the source said.

• Witkoff and Kushner met twice with Zelensky and his senior advisers. National security advisers from the U.K., France and Germany joined a third meeting.

• After the second meeting with Zelensky, Trump's envoys said they were "encouraged by the substantive discussion" and looked forward to making more progress.

What they're saying: A second source who participated in Sunday's talks said the meetings "went well" and that Kushner and Witkoff want to work with the parties on a "refreshed" peace proposal.

• "Things may move in a good direction if there's a follow-up by all parties involved," the source said.

Editor's note: This is a breaking news story and will be updated. 

Barak Ravid

Source: https://www.axios.com/2026/09/06/witkoff-kushner-kyiv-ukraine-peace-talks

Follow Middle East and Terrorism on Twitter