US Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner Arrive in Kyiv Following Moscow Talks

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy welcomed US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in Kyiv on Sunday.

US envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner travelled to Kyiv on Sunday after concluding intensive talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, as Washington renews its push to end the war in Ukraine.

It marks their first visit to the Ukrainian capital since the war began and comes amid near-constant Russian missile and drone strikes on the Ukrainian capital. After greeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the US envoy was taken on a tour of a cathedral in central Kyiv damaged in Russian attacks. St. Sophia’s Cathedral, which is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, has had its windows and window frames damaged.

Ahead of their meeting, the Ukrainian president thanked US President Donald Trump for allowing the trip to happen from a security standpoint, adding that Ukraine had been waiting a long time for Witkoff and Kushner’s visit. Earlier, Zelensky wrote on Telegram that they are ready for talks and committed to bringing the war to an end.

Kyrylo Budanov, Head of the Office of the Ukrainian Presidency, noted that representatives from France, the UK and Germany were also in Kyiv for the important talks. Witkoff and Kushner previously made a stop in the Polish city of Rzeszow en route from Moscow to Kyiv, according to the Russian state media outlet TASS.

Russia and Ukraine enacted a 72-hour temporary truce for the duration of the US envoys’ visits, halting airstrikes on Kyiv and Moscow. However, overnight attacks into Sunday saw Russia continue its bombardment of other parts of Ukraine.

Before arriving in Kyiv, Witkoff and Kushner began their weekend of diplomacy with a three-hour meeting with Putin at the Kremlin on Saturday afternoon, followed by dinner. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov described the talks as useful, while a White House official stated that both sides discussed substantive plans for next steps.