Trump's special envoys Witkoff and Kushner visited Kyiv and Moscow: what were the results of the talks?

Donald Trump administration special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner said Sunday's talks in Kyiv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy were "substantive." Witkoff noted that he was "very encouraged" by their outcome, writes NPRThese negotiations took place the day after the meeting of American representatives with Putin in Moscow.

A lengthy conversation with the Russian leader did not result in any announcement of progress on the possible end to the war.

Jared Kushner, speaking at a press conference in the Ukrainian capital immediately after his meeting with Zelensky, did not disclose details, but said that he and his colleague "learned a lot from this trip."

On the subject: Russia plans to mobilize 300 troops to fight in Ukraine.

Further security talks with European leaders were then held on September 6, Zelenskyy said. Even before meeting with American representatives, he emphasized that any agreement must include security guarantees and a "dignified post-war peace."

President Trump previously stated that his representatives had brought new proposals to the talks. However, Zelenskyy has shown no willingness to make the territorial concessions Moscow insists on and considers non-negotiable. This discrepancy has already hindered previous rounds of US-brokered diplomacy.

The talks between Witkoff and Kushner in Moscow on September 5 took place behind closed doors in the Kremlin and lasted more than three hours. Russian Presidential Aide for Foreign Policy Yuri Ushakov later described them as constructive and useful, but did not specify whether any agreements were reached.

According to Ushakov, the discussion concerned not only military operations but also potential joint economic projects between Russia and the United States.

This trip marked Witkoff and Kushner's first visit to Moscow since January. It followed a lengthy period in which their attention, like much of the administration's diplomatic efforts, was focused on the conflict over Iran.

During this time, observers note that the Kremlin has become more assertive, while American officials have increasingly expressed concern that the war in Ukraine could escalate into a more acute phase.

Attacks on Black Sea shipping routes by both sides have heightened fears of a global grain shortage. Additionally, concerns are growing among NATO countries over suspected Russian sabotage and cyberattacks in Europe, including a failed drone attack on a German airport, which German authorities attribute to the Kremlin.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe's recent visit to Moscow for talks with Russian intelligence agencies may indicate that Kyiv is reconsidering its diplomatic strategy. Details of this meeting are being kept under wraps.

Publicly, Vladimir Putin continues to assert that Russian troops are making progress and will accomplish their assigned tasks, so the question of how willing the Kremlin is to compromise remains unclear.

With the front line virtually unchanged, both sides are increasingly using air strikes. Ukrainian drones regularly attack Russia's energy and logistics infrastructure, contributing to fuel shortages within the country.

Moscow claims it intends to seriously damage Ukraine's power grid again this coming winter. Given the dwindling stockpiles of US-supplied Patriot interceptor missiles, these threats appear more realistic.

Under these circumstances, Volodymyr Zelenskyy promised in his video address to ensure airspace security so that the American delegation could arrive and depart Moscow unhindered. He expressed hope that the visit would yield meaningful results.

In response, Vladimir Putin ordered a 72-hour suspension of airstrikes on Kyiv to allow for the second leg of the American delegation's visit. This step allowed Kyiv residents a brief respite from the shelling that had been damaging infrastructure and civilian objects all summer, resulting in civilian casualties.

However, the brief ceasefire did not extend to other areas. Ukraine's State Emergency Service reported that overnight Russian strikes killed one person and injured at least ten others in several regions, including a Russian drone attack in Zaporizhzhia and a strike on a building in Khmelnytskyi.

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The Ukrainian Air Force said it shot down 82 of 108 Russian drones overnight, along with six missiles.

Russia, for its part, reported one death as a result of a drone strike in the border region of Belgorod, as well as drone strikes on oil facilities in the Rostov-on-Don area.

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