Trump envoys Witkoff and Kushner meet Putin in Kremlin ahead of Kyiv visit
US President Donald Trump's representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on September 5 after a 3.5-hour business lunch with Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev. Putin described the situation to be discussed as "not simple" and passed on greetings to Trump, while Witkoff thanked Putin for what he called a three-day halt of strikes on Kyiv and Moscow. Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine was ready to reciprocate by refraining from strikes on the Russian capital. The pair are expected in Kyiv on September 6 in what is described as their first visit since they began mediating peace efforts.
Key points
- Witkoff and Kushner arrived in Moscow on September 5 and met Putin at the Kremlin in the evening.
- Before the Kremlin meeting they held a 3.5-hour business lunch with Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev.
- From the Russian side, Putin's aide Yuri Ushakov and Kirill Dmitriev also took part in the talks.
- Putin described the situation to be discussed as "not simple" and said contacts with Witkoff and Kushner are always beneficial.
- Putin passed on greetings and words of gratitude to US President Donald Trump.
- Witkoff thanked Putin for what he called a three-day halt of strikes on Kyiv and Moscow; Putin said strikes on Kyiv had not been carried out since midnight September 5 but that Russia "never agreed with Ukraine on a broader ceasefire."
- Zelensky, after a Saturday call with Witkoff and Kushner, said Ukraine was ready to refrain from strikes on the Russian capital and expected Russia not to strike Kyiv.
- Witkoff and Kushner are expected in Kyiv on September 6, their first such visit since they began mediating peace efforts.
- Trump said Witkoff and Kushner are bringing a "proposal to end the war" to Moscow and Kyiv.
Why it matters
The meeting sits inside active US-mediated efforts to end the war and was paired by Trump himself with a "proposal to end the war" carried to both Moscow and Kyiv. It produced a tangible, time-bound de-escalation step — a declared temporary halt of strikes on Kyiv and Moscow during the negotiations — though the three sides framed that halt differently. With Witkoff and Kushner due in Kyiv the next day, their first such visit since mediation began, the Moscow leg and the Kyiv leg are being run as a single shuttle-diplomacy trip.
What happened
On September 5, US President Donald Trump's representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow and, after a 3.5-hour business lunch with Russian special envoy Kirill Dmitriev, went on to the Kremlin for a meeting with Vladimir Putin that began in the evening. Putin's aide Yuri Ushakov and Dmitriev also took part on the Russian side. Opening the meeting, Putin described the situation to be discussed as "not simple," said contacts with Witkoff and Kushner are always beneficial, and passed on greetings and words of gratitude to Trump. Witkoff thanked Putin for what he called a three-day halt of strikes on Kyiv and Moscow, and called the exchange one of the best and most memorable moments of his life. Putin replied that strikes on Kyiv had not been carried out since midnight on September 5, but said Russia "never agreed with Ukraine on a broader ceasefire," and confirmed a temporary mutual cessation of strikes on Moscow and Kyiv for the duration of the negotiations. Earlier the same day, Zelensky had spoken with Witkoff and Kushner and said Ukraine was ready to refrain from strikes on the Russian capital, expecting Russia not to strike Kyiv. Trump said Witkoff and Kushner are bringing a "proposal to end the war" to Moscow and Kyiv. The pair are expected in Kyiv on September 6 in what is described as their first visit since they began mediating peace efforts.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian-language coverage frames the Kremlin meeting as one step in a broader US-mediated track that also includes the Zelensky call and the September 6 visit to Kyiv, presenting Ukraine as ready to reciprocate a temporary no-strike regime on Moscow in exchange for no strikes on Kyiv. Titles trace the procedural chain — the Dmitriev lunch, the arrival at the Kremlin, the start of the meeting, video from the Kremlin press service — and pair the Moscow leg with the announced Kyiv leg, framing the trip as shuttle diplomacy rather than a Russia-only event.
Where reporting differs
Sources diverge on how to characterise the strike halt. Putin said strikes on Kyiv had not been carried out since midnight on September 5 and that Russia "never agreed with Ukraine on a broader ceasefire," framing the pause as unilateral and limited. Witkoff thanked Putin for agreeing to a three-day ceasefire with no strikes on either Kyiv or Moscow, reading it as a mutual arrangement. Zelensky framed Ukraine as ready to refrain from strikes on the Russian capital in a reciprocal arrangement, and described Ukrainian defenders as having reduced the intensity of their strikes.