US Envoys Kushner and Witkoff Arrive in Kyiv for War Talks

Two top US negotiators, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, arrived in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv to hold talks about ending the war between Russia and Ukraine. This was their first-ever visit to Ukraine, even though they had already visited Russia several times. Their trip came just one day after they spent three hours meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. The goal of the visit was to push harder for a peace deal in a conflict that has now lasted more than four years.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Kushner and Witkoff at Sophia Square, a historic plaza in front of the famous Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv. Zelenskyy greeted Witkoff warmly with a hug and said, 'It's good to see you, Steve.' The cathedral is only a few hundred meters from Ukraine's main intelligence headquarters, which was struck by a Russian drone just the day before. That attack was seen as an escalation, meaning the situation was getting more dangerous.

Before Kushner and Witkoff arrived, national security advisers from Britain, France, and Germany had also visited Kyiv. This showed that several countries in Europe were closely watching and involved in the peace efforts. A White House official said the Moscow talks 'discussed substantive plans for next steps' for ending the war. The official also said an announcement could come in the 'coming weeks,' though no details were shared right away.

A senior Russian official described the Moscow talks as 'extremely frank,' which means both sides spoke very openly and honestly. He said there was agreement on the need to deal with the 'root causes' of the conflict, though he did not explain what that meant. Peace talks so far have focused on a 20-point plan put forward by the United States and Ukraine back in December. However, Russia and Ukraine have not been able to agree on several key issues, especially who should control territory in eastern Ukraine.

To help keep the negotiators safe during their travels, both Moscow and Kyiv agreed to pause strikes on each other's capital cities for three days. However, Zelenskyy said Russia broke the spirit of that agreement by striking Kyiv's two main airports on Friday evening, which made it harder for the US envoys to travel. Ukraine's airspace has been closed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Because of this, other visiting leaders have had to travel into Ukraine by train from nearby countries.

Kyiv and the areas around it had been hit by drone attacks every day for more than a week before the negotiators arrived. Those attacks were the heaviest the capital had seen in months. Ukrainian officials reported that at least eight people were killed and 69 were injured across the country in just one day. While Kyiv itself got a brief break from the strikes during the talks, other parts of Ukraine were still being hit.

Ukraine is also running low on Patriot interceptors, which are US-made weapons used to shoot down incoming drones and missiles. This is a serious problem because Russia has been using newer, faster drones that can travel up to 250 miles per hour, making them very hard to stop. Many Ukrainians are worried about the war continuing into a fifth year and are anxious about surviving another winter. Zelenskyy's defense technology adviser even suggested the government should think about moving elderly people out of Kyiv, because Russia has reportedly ordered its military to launch large strikes on Ukraine's energy systems.