US envoys set for Ukraine talks after meeting Putin in Moscow

Two US envoys are hoping for "equally productive meetings" in Ukraine after holding discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on ending the war, US office-holders say.

Key points

• Russia still controls regarding one-fifth of Ukrainian territory – areas that it seized back in 2022.
• It will be to the first trip by US President Donald Trump's top negotiators to Ukraine's capital.
• As Witkoff and Kushner were negotiating at the Kremlin, Zelensky remarked he was ready for "a substantive conversation".
• The discussions come after Russia and Ukraine have intensified aerial attacks in recent months.
• Details are still emerging, but both sides have given broadly positive remarks without going into specifics.

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are set to land in Kyiv on Sunday, having "discussed substantive plans for next steps" with Putin on Saturday, according to the White House.

As efforts to end the war in Ukraine gather pace, it is not yet clear exactly what they are, but an announcement is projected in the coming weeks.

It will be to the first trip by US President Donald Trump's top negotiators to Ukraine's capital. Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have agreed to halt strikes on each other's capitals for three days.

Saturday's discussions in Moscow lasted three hours and were held behind closed doors in Putin's official residence in the heart of the Russian capital, according to Russian state media.

Details are still emerging, but both sides have given broadly positive remarks without going into specifics. Putin adviser Yuri Ushakov described the discussions as "constructive, extremely frank".

"The talks were not limited to an exchange of views on resolving the Ukrainian crisis – economic issues and potential major, mutually beneficial Russian-American projects were discussed in considerable detail, " he remarked.

Ushakov additionally stated "note was made of the Russian army's tangible advances in the combat zone" and that there was acknowledgement that discussions needed to address "the root causes of the conflict".

Despite an escalation of Russian missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities including Kyiv, Russian ground forces have created highly slow advances for most of the conflict, incurring enormous casualties. Russia still controls regarding one-fifth of Ukrainian territory – areas that it seized back in 2022.

Kushner and Witkoff have visited Russia a number of times but given Ukraine's airspace has been closed since Russia rolled out its full-scale invasion in February 2022, it is not clear how they will be travelling to Kyiv from Moscow.

Meanwhile, the discussions come after Russia and Ukraine have intensified aerial attacks in recent months.

While Kyiv has focused its strikes on Russian economic infrastructure targets, notably oil installations, ukraine notes it has struggled to repel ballistic missile attacks due to a lack of interceptor missiles.

Taken together, the developments around US envoys set for Ukraine talks after meeting Putin in Moscow point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.