US envoys Witkoff and Kushner meet Zelensky in Kyiv in first Ukraine visit since February talks began
US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner traveled to Kyiv on 6 September 2026 — their first visit to Ukraine since negotiations began in February 2025 — for three rounds of talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky, a day after holding more than three hours of talks with Vladimir Putin in Moscow. National security advisors from Germany, France and the United Kingdom joined the second round. The Americans publicly called for a return to a Ukraine-US-Russia trilateral format, but no concrete breakthrough was announced and sources briefed on the talks said the war is unlikely to end before winter.
Key points
- Witkoff and Kushner arrived in Kyiv on 6 September, their first visit to Ukraine since negotiations began in February 2025, one day after more than three hours of talks with Putin in Moscow.
- Talks were held in three rounds at Sofiyiska Square (St. Sophia's Cathedral); national security advisors from Germany, France and the United Kingdom joined the second round in person for the first time.
- Witkoff said the delegation heard in Moscow 'new ideas that hadn't worked before' and brought them to Kyiv; both envoys publicly called for a return to a Ukraine-US-Russia trilateral format.
- No concrete breakthrough was announced and the substance of the US proposal was not disclosed; the Financial Times reported the envoys brought updated versions of previous peace documents rather than fundamentally new ideas.
- Sources briefed on the talks concluded the war is unlikely to end before winter; Kushner said the US is working toward that goal but did not guarantee it.
- Zelensky said Ukraine's position on Donbas is unchanged and the issue must be discussed 'at the leaders' level'; the ISW concluded after the visits that Putin is unwilling to make substantive compromises and that Russia's demands extend beyond all of Donetsk Oblast.
- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not rule out a return to the trilateral format but said it was premature to discuss place and time, calling any progress 'one small step toward peace'.
Why it matters
The 6 September meeting was the first time Trump's lead negotiators traveled to Kyiv since the start of the peace process in February 2025, after Witkoff alone had previously made eight trips to Moscow. The in-person participation of E3 national security advisors in the second round broadened the format beyond bilateral US-Russia contacts for the first time, and the American envoys' public call to return to a Ukraine-US-Russia trilateral signaled a possible structural shift. Yet no concrete breakthrough emerged, the substance of the US proposal remained undisclosed, and sources briefed on the talks concluded the war is unlikely to end before winter.
What happened
On 5 September 2026, US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held more than three hours of talks in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin. On 6 September they traveled to Kyiv by train — Zelensky said Ukraine had prepared airports but Russian strikes prevented air travel — arriving at Sofiyiska Square (St. Sophia's Cathedral), the venue having been switched from Mariinskyi Palace with a two-hour delay. Three rounds of negotiations with President Volodymyr Zelensky followed; national security advisors from Germany, France and the United Kingdom joined the second round in person. The Ukrainian side included Head of the Office of the President Kyrylo Budanov, Foreign Intelligence Service head Rustem Umerov, Servant of the People faction leader Davyd Arakhamia, and First Deputy Head of the Office of the President Serhiy Kyslytsia.
Witkoff said the delegation heard in Moscow 'new ideas that hadn't worked before' and brought them to Kyiv; both envoys called for a return to a Ukraine-US-Russia trilateral format. Kushner said Trump wants not only to end the war but also to create conditions for lasting peace and attract investment in Ukraine, and described the Moscow meeting with Putin as 'constructive and substantial'. Zelensky described all three rounds as 'very substantive' and said Ukraine's position on Donbas is unchanged, with the issue to be discussed 'at the leaders' level'. No concrete breakthrough was announced and the substance of the US proposal remained undisclosed. After the talks Zelensky convened the negotiating group to discuss air defense needs, technological cooperation and a 'winter package', and held a separate one-on-one with Witkoff and Kushner. The envoys left Kyiv by train, with Ukrzaliznytsia displaying 'Peace Express' on the departure board. On 7 September Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not rule out a return to the trilateral format but said it was premature to discuss place and time, calling any progress 'one small step toward peace'.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian media emphasized the symbolic and logistical details of welcoming the US delegation: the 'Peace Express' train, the Sofiyiska Square venue, the cathedral tour, the 'Kyiv Regime' T-shirts Zelensky showed Arakhamia (and said matching ones were prepared for Witkoff and Kushner), and Kyiv residents' jokes about an 'American dome over Kyiv' after a weekend with paused air raid alerts. Ukrainian coverage also foregrounded the participation of E3 national security advisors in the second round as evidence that Europeans are being drawn into the format for the first time, stressed Zelensky's characterization of all three rounds as 'very substantive', and quoted his claim that Russian attacks forced the delegation to travel by train rather than plane.
How international sources describe it
International outlets — including a French-language Le Monde/AFP wire and an Azerbaijani English-language agency piece — framed the visit primarily as a long-anticipated but inconclusive trip, emphasizing the absence of any announced breakthrough and the non-disclosure of the US proposal's substance. They highlighted the Financial Times' reporting that the envoys brought only updated versions of previous peace documents, the assessment from sources briefed on the talks that the war is unlikely to end before winter, and the ISW conclusion that Putin is unwilling to make substantive compromises and that his demands extend beyond all of Donetsk Oblast. The prospect of separate Trump-Putin and Trump-Zelensky phone calls after the envoys' return was also foregrounded.
Background
Witkoff and Kushner traveled to and from Kyiv by train rather than by plane; Zelensky said Ukraine had prepared airports to receive the guests but Russian strikes prevented the use of air transport. The original meeting location at Mariinskyi Palace was changed to Sofiyiska Square (Saint Sophia Cathedral) and pushed back by two hours without an official explanation. Ukrzaliznytsia displayed the name 'Peace Express' on the departure board when the US envoys' train left Kyiv, and the Ukrainian side hosted a short tour of Saint Sophia Cathedral before talks. The Ukrainian delegation included Kyrylo Budanov (Head of the Office of the President), Rustem Umerov (Head of the Foreign Intelligence Service), Davyd Arakhamia (head of the Servant of the People faction), and Serhiy Kyslytsia (First Deputy Head of the Office of the President). After the talks Zelensky discussed air defense needs, technological cooperation and a 'winter package' with the negotiating group and held a separate one-on-one with Witkoff and Kushner. The Institute for the Study of War concluded after the visits that Putin is unwilling to make substantive compromises and that his demands extend beyond the whole of Donetsk Oblast; Russia is reported to control about 75% of the Donbas.