KYIV, Ukraine — United States envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff arrived in Kyiv by train on Sunday for their first visit to the Ukrainian capital, one day after holding talks with Russia's Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on ending more than four years of war between the two neighbors.

U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law Kushner and his business partner Witkoff had traveled to Moscow several times during the war but had never held talks in Kyiv, a city hit by deadly Russian strikes since 2022. They are due to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and an AFP reporter in Kyiv saw the American envoys arrive by train.

The envoys hope to revive negotiations to end Europe's worst conflict since World War II, following a summer of escalation. Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launched in February 2022, has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions, and the outcome of the U.S.-led mediation effort is being closely watched across Europe, where the war has reshaped energy markets, defense spending and refugee flows since it began.

Kremlin meeting

Witkoff and Kushner met with Putin on Saturday to "advance President Trump's agenda of peace in the Russia-Ukraine War," a White House official said in a statement to AFP. "The two sides discussed substantive plans for next steps, which will be announced in the coming weeks, and look forward to equally productive meetings tomorrow in Ukraine."

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov described the talks as "extremely frank," saying the Americans "put forward a number of ideas on possible routes to a settlement," but he did not elaborate. Ushakov added that the Russian side told the Americans Moscow was "confident" it could achieve its military goals of seizing the rest of eastern Ukraine.

The visit was Kushner and Witkoff's eighth trip to Moscow during the war, but their first to the Ukrainian capital. The fact that the envoys met Putin before sitting down with Ukrainian officials underscores the sequencing of the U.S. diplomatic effort, which has drawn criticism from some European governments wary of talks conducted over Kyiv's head. Russia's TASS news agency reported early Sunday that the two had arrived in Rzeszow, Poland, on their way to Kyiv. Ukraine's airspace has been closed since Moscow launched the war in February 2022, and visiting leaders have arrived by train.

Zelenskyy: Ukraine "ready for the conversation"

Zelenskyy said on Sunday that Ukraine was "ready for the conversation." "Ukraine has always been and will remain constructive," the wartime leader said on social media ahead of the envoys' visit.

For many Ukrainians, however, hopes of a breakthrough remain slim. "At this point it doesn't give me any hope. There have already been too many negotiations," Yaroslav, a 29-year-old Kyiv resident, told AFP.

Putin thanks Trump

In televised comments before the talks, Putin said Russia would ensure the safety of the envoys in Kyiv — a city Moscow has struck repeatedly with deadly attacks throughout the war. "We will do everything that depends on us to ensure the safety of the negotiation process and mediators such as yourselves," Putin told Witkoff and Kushner.

Earlier on Saturday, Putin had thanked Trump for persisting in his efforts to end the war despite it being "not simple." Of the envoys' trip to Kyiv, he said: "No matter what happens next, contacts of this kind are undoubtedly always beneficial."

Trump said on Friday that his envoys were bringing a "proposal" to end the fighting. "We have an idea for peace," he said, without elaborating.

U.S. efforts have so far not produced a breakthrough in the war, and peace efforts have stalled in part because of Washington's war with Iran. Russia occupies large swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine, and Putin has insisted that Moscow intends to seize the rest of eastern Ukraine.

Limited truce

Both Russia and Ukraine have vowed not to strike each other's capitals for three days to allow the negotiations to take place.

"The Russian president, the commander-in-chief, has given the order from midnight not to strike Kyiv for three days," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Zelenskyy said he had spoken with the U.S. envoys and likewise promised that Kyiv would not strike Moscow. "From now through the end of Saturday, as well as on Sunday and Monday, Ukraine is ready to refrain from strikes on Moscow," Zelenskyy said.

Fighting continued elsewhere, however. Ukraine's air force said Russia attacked overnight with 108 drones and missiles, while Moscow said it had shot down 258 drones.

On Saturday, Putin said he had "noted that the Ukrainian side significantly reduced" its strikes on Russia and Moscow. Kyiv, however, said Russian strikes had killed 10 people across the country on Saturday, including a child and his family members in the Kharkiv region and two people outside Kyiv.

With the White House saying plans for "next steps" will be announced in the coming weeks, the coming days in Kyiv are expected to clarify what, if anything, the Trump proposal contains.

Source: The Korea Times