Before talks in Kyiv with US peace envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine needed security guarantees and a dignified postwar peace. The Ukrainian administration maintains that Washington will play a decisive role in any potential peace agreement.
Kushner and Witkoff's visit was their first trip to the Ukrainian capital as US negotiators. The two envoys met Zelenskyy and other senior Ukrainian officials on Sunday.
The envoys traveled to Kyiv from Moscow. Kushner and Witkoff held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin for nearly three hours on Saturday. The meeting produced no sign of progress toward ending the war in Ukraine.
The first round of talks lasted approximately three hours and was followed by a working lunch. Steve Witkoff described the discussions as "substantive and significant" and said they expected further progress.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has previously achieved limited results in its efforts to end the war. Trump said Friday that he had a new peace proposal but did not disclose its details.
Donbas and security guarantees
One of the main disputes between the sides concerns the future of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. Russia wants Ukraine to abandon the line of settlements under Russian control, while Kyiv rejects the demand.
Ukraine is also seeking strong security guarantees from European countries and the United States to deter a new Russian attack. Zelenskyy said new talks involving European representatives were scheduled to take place on Sunday.
The national security advisers of the United Kingdom, France and Germany were in Kyiv on the same day. Some residents of the city approached the peace talks with cautious hope after heavy air attacks. Military veteran Stepan Yermak said the war should end and people should be able to live in peace.
Attacks continue
Long-range air attacks between Russia and Ukraine continue. The Kremlin announced that it would halt attacks on Kyiv until Monday, while Zelenskyy said Ukraine would suspend its attacks on Moscow.
Nevertheless, fighting continued along the approximately 1,200-kilometer front line, and Russia struck several Ukrainian cities on Saturday.
Ukraine said it had struck an oil refinery in Russia's Ryazan region overnight, causing a fire. The Ukrainian administration had announced that it carried out attacks targeting refineries, oil terminals and storage facilities in Russia throughout the summer.
