Bogdan Frolov07:41, 06.09.26

Witkoff and Kushner are heading to Kyiv to meet with Zelensky.

Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin held more than three hours of “extremely useful” talks with two US envoys seeking a deal to end the war in Ukraine, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said, but gave no indication of any breakthrough.

According to him, US President Donald Trump’s special representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner “put forward a number of ideas on possible ways to resolve the situation.” Ushakov did not specify what these ideas were, Reuters writes .

Putin, in turn, told them that Russia was allegedly making “real progress” on the battlefield and was confident in achieving its goals, while emphasizing the need to eliminate “all root causes of the conflict.”

Putin praised Trump’s efforts

A White House official told reporters that the talks were “substantial” and that further steps would be announced in the coming weeks. There was no immediate comment from Witkoff and Kushner, who were visiting Moscow for the first time since January on Trump’s behalf. They flew out of Moscow shortly after the talks and are scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Sunday.

“The negotiations went beyond a simple exchange of views on resolving the Ukrainian crisis. Economic issues and possible large, mutually beneficial Russian-American projects were discussed in considerable detail,” Ushakov said. “In general, we can say that the negotiations were timely and extremely useful for both sides.”

Putin’s investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev, in turn, wrote that the meeting was “an important peacemaking visit.” He and Ushakov were both present at the meeting. Putin praised Trump’s efforts to end the war.

“Understanding that he finds himself in a difficult situation, he nevertheless does not stop his efforts to help achieve a settlement and make his contribution to resolving the Russian-Ukrainian conflict,” the Kremlin dictator said in a televised speech at the start of the negotiations.

A huge gap in positions

Russia has been shelling the Ukrainian capital with missiles and drones day and night for the past 10 days, including striking the SBU headquarters on Friday. Ukraine has been carrying out significant strikes on Russian refineries, oil terminals and warehouses of online retailer Wildberries over the summer, reportedly in an attempt to increase the cost of continuing the war for Moscow. However, by the time Trump’s special envoys visited Moscow and Kyiv, Ukraine was ready to refrain from striking the Russian capital.

Journalists say the two countries remain far apart on how to end the five-year war, with a source close to the Kremlin previously saying Putin remains intent on capturing more territory.

“There is no chance of reaching an agreement on the front line until Putin completes securing the rest of the Donetsk region,” he stressed, adding that the Kremlin leader is confident – based on reports from his commanders – that this will happen by the end of the year.

Western military analysts consider such a possibility unlikely, given Moscow’s slow pace of advance. Ukraine has refused to give up territory it successfully defended at great cost, and rejects such terms as tantamount to surrender.

The Kremlin said the position Putin outlined two years ago, that Ukraine must cede all of the territory of four regions claimed by Russia and abandon its plan to join NATO, remains “unwavering.”

(C)UNIAN 2026