President Trump’s two leading peace envoys have completed a high-stakes diplomatic swing through Moscow and Kyiv as Washington tries to restart negotiations over the war in Ukraine.
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Russian President Vladimir Putin behind closed doors at the Kremlin on Saturday. They then traveled to Kyiv, where they held several rounds of talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday.
No peace agreement was announced. But after months of stalled diplomacy, the fact that the same American team sat down with both leaders on consecutive days is a significant reopening of the negotiating channel.
Video from Kyiv showed Witkoff and Kushner arriving by train before meeting Ukrainian officials:
US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff arrived in Kyiv on train for talks with Ukrainian officials on the settlement of the war.
Upon their arrival, they were greeted by the head of the Ukrainian negotiation team, Rustem Umerov, and later met with President Zelensky. pic.twitter.com/uePzURIvVV
— Status-6 (War & Military News) (@Archer83Able) September 6, 2026
The Associated Press reported that the Kremlin meeting lasted more than three hours. Putin’s foreign-policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov, called the talks constructive, frank and useful, though he disclosed no specific breakthrough.
The Moscow talks covered the battlefield and possible next steps, along with economic issues and potential joint projects between the United States and Russia. Putin also asked the envoys to pass along his wishes and thanks to President Trump.
Both Russia and Ukraine agreed to pause attacks on the other side’s capital during the diplomatic visit. That temporary restraint did not amount to a broader ceasefire, and fighting elsewhere continued.
Additional video showed Witkoff and Kushner meeting Zelenskyy and Ukrainian officials in Kyiv:
🇺🇦🇺🇸 Weitere Aufnahmen vom Treffen von Steve Witkoff und Jared Kushner mit Wolodymyr Selenskyj. pic.twitter.com/6UCViNtfSw
— Siegfried 💙💛💩Brandenburg gegen Nazis💩 (@Siegfri41835106) September 6, 2026
After Moscow, Witkoff and Kushner traveled through Poland and continued over land to Kyiv. It was their first visit to the Ukrainian capital during the current peace effort, despite months of contact with both sides.
Axios reported that the envoys met Zelenskyy and his senior advisers twice. National-security advisers from Britain, France and Germany joined a third session.
The discussions included a possible refreshed peace proposal, security guarantees, territorial disputes and preparations for winter. Kushner and Witkoff pressed for progress before the cold season, while the Ukrainian side raised its need for continued air-defense and energy support if the war continues.
A White House official told the outlet that the Moscow session covered plans for next steps, with more detail expected in the coming weeks. A participant in the Kyiv talks said the meetings went well but cautioned that progress would require continued work by all sides.
The sequence put the American envoys in the role of carrying ideas between two governments whose central positions remain far apart. The visit created a path for more talks; it did not erase the disputes that froze the process in the first place.
Reuters published video from the Kyiv leg of the mission:
What are your thoughts?
Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff met with Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv as the Trump administration renewed its push to end Russia's war in Ukraine https://t.co/FjkvOIJRgZ pic.twitter.com/6Q5j82odvb
— Reuters (@Reuters) September 6, 2026
The Office of the President of Ukraine said the meetings addressed ways to restart negotiations after the American team’s talks with Putin.
Zelenskyy said the territorial question remains unresolved and argued that the hardest decisions can be made only by national leaders. He also said Ukraine, the United States and European partners agreed to meet again soon, although no venue or date was announced.
Kushner said the American objective is to build a framework capable of producing a durable peace. He added that the envoys had discussed a possible trilateral meeting without trying to dictate terms to either side.
That distinction matters. The weekend produced movement, access and a new round of direct diplomacy—but not a settlement.
For now, the channel is open again. What happens next will depend on whether Moscow and Kyiv can move from general discussions to concrete terms on territory, security guarantees and an enforceable end to the fighting.
Featured image: President Trump speaks with Steve Witkoff at United Nations Headquarters on September 23, 2025. Official White House photograph.
This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.
