US envoys make first Kyiv visit amid Ukraine war peace push

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.

Kushner and Witkoff travelled from Moscow, where ‌they held three hours of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday but did not appear to secure a breakthrough in the conflict.

Previous rounds of U.S.-mediated peace talks encouraged by President Donald Trump, who campaigned on a promise to quickly end the war, have yielded few results. He suggested on Friday that the U.S. had a fresh proposal though he did not elaborate.

Putin ​described Saturday's meeting as "highly useful", while a White House official told Reuters that next steps would be announced in the coming weeks.

The two envoys ​met Zelenskiy and other top Ukrainian officials in central Kyiv.

Zelenskiy, who believes Washington will be key to any peace deal, ⁠has said a window of opportunity to make peace exists before the U.S. begins focusing on its next presidential elections next summer.

In a post on ​social media before the envoys' arrival, Zelenskiy said he had held a preparatory meeting with his negotiating team and said Ukraine wanted an end to the war.

"Security ​guarantees are needed. A dignified post-war peace is needed. Our proposals have been drawn up," he said.

A source familiar with the matter told Reuters the British, French and German national security advisers were also in Kyiv on Sunday. The source did not specify which meetings they would participate in.

- Reuters