Putin Meets Trump’s Envoys in Moscow as US Pushes for a Ukraine Peace Deal

On Saturday, Vladimir Putin sat down at the Kremlin with two of Donald Trump’s hand‑picked envoys – real‑estate mogul Steve Witkoff and former senior adviser Jared Kushner. The meeting stretched beyond three hours, a marathon of candid exchanges that underscored how fragile any peace effort remains.

Arriving in Moscow earlier that day, the American team was greeted by Kirill Dmitriev, the president’s top envoy. Putin opened with a weary acknowledgment: “The situation is, of course, not simple.” He then asked the duo to pass on his gratitude and best wishes to President Trump, a small diplomatic courtesy that hinted at the personal dimension of the talks.

Trump has publicly claimed the pair are carrying “a proposal to end the war,” yet the specifics of that plan remain tightly under wraps. After the lengthy session, Kremlin foreign‑policy adviser Yuri Ushakov described the dialogue as “substantive, very frank and constructive,” noting that a “whole series of ideas for a peace settlement” had been aired.

Ushakov said Moscow presented its own assessment of the battlefield, stressing that any lasting solution must address what it calls the “root causes” of the conflict. He also reaffirmed Russia’s confidence in achieving its military goals in Ukraine, while mentioning that economic cooperation and joint projects were on the agenda.

Kirill Dmitriev labeled the visit “important” for peacemaking. Once the talks wrapped, Witkoff and Kushner headed east to Kyiv, where they are expected to meet Ukrainian officials on Sunday.

In a curious parallel, both sides announced a short‑term pause in strikes aimed at each other’s capitals. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov relayed that President Putin ordered a three‑day halt on attacks against Kyiv, starting at midnight. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy echoed the sentiment, pledging that Kyiv would refrain from hitting Moscow through Monday.

Even with the declared cease‑fire, fighting raged elsewhere. Russian air raids that Saturday reportedly killed several civilians in Ukraine, while Ukrainian forces launched strikes into Russia’s Belgorod region. Zelenskyy accused Moscow of trying to sabotage the U.S. delegation’s Kyiv visit, pointing to recent missile hits on Kyiv’s Boryspil airport as evidence of retaliation.

“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,” he warned.

The upcoming Kyiv stop will be the first for Witkoff and Kushner since Trump returned to the White House, and it carries the weight of Washington’s hope to reboot a stalled peace process that has so far delivered little beyond rhetoric.