President Donald Trump called Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, urging a swift end to the Ukraine war that would allow full restoration of U.S.-Russia ties, according to the Kremlin. The one-hour call followed the weekend visit by U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Moscow and Kyiv, as the Trump administration renewed its push to end Russia's four-and-a-half-year war in Ukraine. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters that Putin supported Trump's approach, stating 'Donald Trump clearly emphasised the desirability of bringing the conflict to an end as soon as possible, which would immediately open up prospects - impressive and far-reaching ones at that - for the full restoration of relations between the U.S. and Russia.' Ushakov added that Trump is 'keen to see a breakthrough achieved during his presidency', with Putin supporting this approach. The Kremlin official noted that 'this would have a particular impact on trade and economic ties, promising enormous benefits for both countries.'
U.S. peace envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv on Sunday as the Trump administration renewed its push to end Russia's four-and-a-half-year war in Ukraine. According to reports from NPR, this marks the first visit by the U.S. negotiators to Kyiv in their capacity as peace envoys, following their three-hour talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday. The visit has been long sought by Ukraine's leadership and comes amid renewed diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that Kyiv is ready for a 'constructive' discussion with U.S. representatives, stating 'We are interested in bringing the end of the war closer. Peace is needed. Security guarantees are needed. A just and sustainable postwar peace is needed. Our proposals are prepared.'
Saturday's meeting in Moscow lasted more than three hours behind closed doors and ended without announcements of any breakthroughs. As reported by The Associated Press, Putin's foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov described the talks as 'constructive, frank, and useful' but didn't discuss specific outcomes. While Moscow offered its 'comprehensive assessment' of the battlefield situation in Ukraine, Ushakov said the talks were not purely focused on the war in Ukraine. 'Economic issues and potentially large, mutually beneficial joint projects for Russia and America were discussed in considerable detail,' he stated. The last known visit to Moscow by Witkoff and Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, was in January when they also held talks with Putin at the Kremlin. Following the talks, senior Russian official Kirill Dmitriev said the envoys' trip to Moscow was an 'important peacemaking visit', with both sides agreeing that Putin and Trump would stay in touch. A White House official told AFP that the duo had met with Putin to 'advance President Trump's agenda of peace in the Russia-Ukraine War', with both sides discussing 'substantive plans for next steps, which will be announced in the coming weeks'. Witkoff appeared particularly warm during the Moscow meeting, telling Putin in video published by Russia's state-owned RIA Novosti that the delegation had been reflecting on how 'when we retire, we'll have all these incredible stories and incredible memories, and yours will be right at the top of it all.' Putin responded by saying 'I would like to say that working with you is a comfortable experience for us, and we certainly place a high level of trust in you throughout this process.'
Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov called the talks 'extremely frank' and said that the US side had 'put forward a number of ideas on possible routes to a settlement', which he described to reporters as 'substantive, very frank and constructive'. Putin told the envoys that Russia would achieve its objectives and that the 'root causes' of the conflict needed to be resolved. Moscow is 'confident' it can achieve its military goals of seizing the rest of eastern Ukraine', Ushakov added. According to Al Jazeera's Yulia Shapovalova reporting from Moscow, there were 'some more or less optimistic reports' from the Kremlin regarding the progress of the discussions. Putin 'remains publicly open to peace talks' but maintains that he will not make any concessions on key issues, stating he will not negotiate with 'terrorists' following Ukraine's escalating drone operations deep inside Russia and targeting of major economic infrastructure. Putin aide Yury Ushakov told Russian state media on Sunday that the meeting, which included an 'informal setting at the dining table,' was 'substantive, constructive, extremely frank and trusting,' noting it was the eighth time the U.S. delegation has visited Russia. Ushakov added that Putin had extended his 'best wishes' to Trump during the talks. Ushakov said Putin and Trump had also agreed on the need to continue prisoner exchanges, though he provided no further details about what was discussed.
Putin has ordered his forces to halt strikes on Kyiv for three days while the envoys make their trip, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told the Russian news agency Interfax. The pause was in place from midnight Saturday, he said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had also spoken with Witkoff and Kushner on Saturday and reaffirmed Kyiv's commitment to pausing strikes during their visit. 'From the moment of this conversation, we are ready to observe a ceasefire in airstrikes against the cities involved in the negotiation process,' Zelenskyy wrote in a post on social media. 'From now through the end of Saturday, as well as on Sunday and Monday, Ukraine is ready to refrain from strikes on Moscow, and we expect the Russians to do the same regarding Kyiv.' Witkoff told Putin that the US president had sent his best wishes and thanked him for the limited ceasefire during the delegation's visit, with the Russian president also conveying gratitude to Trump and saying Moscow would do its utmost to ensure the safety of the mediators. Both Russia and Ukraine agreed to hold off on aerial attacks on each other's capitals to enable the visits over the weekend, bringing a brief respite in the cities, though no broader ceasefire is in place. Sunday's visit to Kyiv is believed to be the first to be made by Witkoff and Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, as part of the peace effort. Witkoff has visited Moscow several times, most recently holding talks with Putin at the Kremlin in January.
The air war between Russia and Ukraine has intensified as troops have struggled to make progress along the 1,250-kilometer (775-mile) front line. According to The Associated Press, Russia has recently been using fast-flying, jet-powered drones, and the recurring wail of air-raid sirens has become part of daily life in Kyiv. Russian strikes on Ukraine on Saturday killed at least seven people, including in the Kyiv suburbs, Ukrainian officials said. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone attack on Russia's Belgorod region killed one person and injured another, according to local authorities. In Zaporizhzhia, drone strikes killed a 74-year-old man and wounded three people, while a drone damaged an apartment building, injuring seven people, in the Khmelnytskyi region. Ukraine's air force said Sunday that it intercepted 82 drones out of the 108 launched by Russia overnight, along with six missiles. In Russia, a man was killed and a woman seriously wounded when a Ukrainian drone struck a vehicle, local authorities in the Belgorod border region said. The Russian Defense Ministry said Sunday that its air defenses overnight shot down 258 Ukrainian drones over 14 Russian regions, occupied Crimea and the waters of the Black and Azov seas. On Friday, a Russian drone hit one of the most important government buildings in Kyiv — the headquarters of Ukraine's Security Service, known as the SBU, which is one of the agencies involved in carrying out deep-strike operations inside Russia. Ahead of the talks, Russia had ramped up its attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities with relentless bombardments, exploiting Ukraine's shortage of air defense systems. In a social media post Saturday, Zelenskyy said Russia had launched overnight strikes on Kyiv and Boryspil international airports, linking the attack to the U.S. visit. 'Clearly, these Russian strikes on the airports are a reaction to the discussions and preparations for the possibility of the U.S. side using an aircraft to travel to Ukraine,' Zelenskyy said, adding that Kyiv had 'taken note of this Russian move' and would 'adjust our operation accordingly regarding Russian airspace, which has become dangerous because of our drones and missiles in the sky.'
