US envoys Witkoff and Kushner urge compromise in Kyiv after Moscow talks with Putin

Diplomatic mission between Moscow and Kyiv

US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Kyiv on 6 September 2026 for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, following a three-hour meeting in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin on 5 September. The US delegation, which included officials from the National Security Council, the State Department, and the Treasury, traveled by train to Kyiv after landing in Rzeszow in eastern Poland. The visit marked the first trip to the Ukrainian capital for Witkoff and Kushner, who had faced criticism from Kyiv in April for conducting shuttle diplomacy exclusively through Moscow. Security advisers representing the governments of Germany, France, and the United Kingdom also participated in portions of the Kyiv discussions, which concluded with an agreement to hold a broader joint meeting between Ukraine, the United States, and European partners at an unannounced future date.

Calls for compromise and core negotiation obstacles

During the three-hour meeting at the presidential administration in Kyiv, Witkoff urged both sides to make concessions and bridge existing differences.

We've had a very meaningful discussion, substantive, important, and we are very encouraged and we look forward to continuing this as long as it takes.

Kushner stated that US President Donald Trump aims for a durable settlement that prevents future conflicts and allows Ukraine to direct its wartime innovation toward national reconstruction. However, substantial disagreements on core issues remain unresolved. Zelenskyy reiterated that territorial questions can only be settled at the head-of-state level, noting that Putin continues to reject direct talks at a neutral venue and has instead demanded that the Ukrainian president travel to Moscow. Russian foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov described the earlier Moscow discussions as frank, noting that Putin outlined Russian battlefield advances. Moscow maintains demands for full control over the four Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, alongside Ukrainian renunciation of NATO membership, terms that Kyiv rejects.

Frontline military activity and winter expectations

A temporary three-day truce paused aerial attacks against Kyiv and Moscow during the envoys' diplomatic mission. Zelenskyy joked that the presence of Witkoff and Kushner worked better than Patriot air defence systems in providing Kyiv residents a reprieve from Russian bombardment. During the discussions, the Ukrainian president addressed shortages of Patriot interceptor missiles, requested economic and security guarantees, and discussed a winter assistance package.

We very much hope that we will be able to reach agreements with our American partners, and we are counting on the support of our European partners if the war continues in winter - and this is how it appears at the moment.

Active combat continued across the 1,250-kilometre frontline outside the two capitals. In Zaporizhzhia oblast, regional governor Ivan Fedorov recorded 886 Russian strikes across 54 settlements within 24 hours, killing one person and injuring 25. Additional Russian bombardments outside Kyiv resulted in at least three deaths and more than 20 injuries. Meanwhile, Ukrainian attack drones caused a fire at an oil refinery in Ryazan, roughly 150 kilometres southeast of Moscow, and prompted air defence responses in the Rostov region. White House officials stated that concrete plans for next steps will be announced in the coming weeks, while Trump is scheduled to consult with his envoys before holding separate telephone calls with Putin and Zelenskyy on Monday.