Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday, then made their first visit to Kyiv on Sunday to revive stalled Russia-Ukraine peace talks. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin had given the order "not to strike Kyiv for three days," the Korea Times reported. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also promised Kyiv would not strike Moscow, and the envoys reached Kyiv by train after flying to Poland.
What happened in Moscow? The three-hour Kremlin meeting appeared to produce no breakthrough, CNA reported, citing Reuters. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov called the talks "extremely frank" and, in remarks carried by the Korea Times, said Moscow had told the Americans it was "confident" it could achieve its military goals of seizing the rest of eastern Ukraine. A White House official said the two sides discussed "substantive plans for next steps, which will be announced in the coming weeks." Earlier on Saturday, Putin had thanked Trump for persisting in his efforts to end the war despite it being "not simple," a day after Trump said his envoys were bringing a "proposal" to end the fighting.
How did the Kyiv talks go? Zelensky greeted the pair at St Sophia Cathedral, and several hours of closed-door talks ended without an announced major breakthrough, the BBC reported. Witkoff said he was "encouraged" by "substantive" talks and that the envoys had "made a lot of progress in Moscow," where they met the Russian leader before travelling to Kyiv because they "needed to hear where he stood." Kushner said the team in Moscow "went through a lot of the ideas that hadn't worked to date," describing "a very good dialogue" in which Putin "asked a lot of questions." Zelensky said officials from Ukraine, Europe and the US would meet soon, and called for a trilateral meeting with Russia and the US.
What comes next? Zelensky said he expects the war to continue into winter, "which is what it looks like for now," and that Ukraine would need air defence and energy support, the BBC reported. Ukraine has relied on American-made Patriot interceptors against Russian ballistic missiles, but the US has used many of its stockpiles in its war with Iran. Fighting continued elsewhere: Ukraine's air force said Russia attacked overnight with 108 drones and missiles, and Kyiv said Russian strikes killed 10 people on Saturday, the Korea Times reported.
Figures referenced: Donald Trump. — JudgeMarket.
