US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrive in Moscow for Ukraine talks

What happened

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner travelled to Moscow and met Russian President Vladimir Putin, footage released by the Kremlin showed. In the video Putin said the current situation “is not so easy” and promised Russia would explain "how we see the situation." Witkoff thanked Putin for agreeing with Ukraine to halt strikes on each other's capitals for three days.

Russian state media reported the talks took place behind closed doors at Putin’s official residence in central Moscow and lasted three hours. A photo published with reports shows Kushner (left) and Witkoff (right) pictured with Russia’s Kirill Dmitriev (centre) upon arrival. There has been no official comment from Washington or the Kremlin on the substance of the discussions.

Ukraine’s president Zelensky said he had already spoken to the envoys and that the plan for diplomatic engagements in Kyiv on Sunday, involving the US team, had been approved. Zelensky said Ukraine was prepared from now through the end of Saturday, and on Sunday and Monday, to refrain from strikes on Moscow and expected Russians to do the same regarding Kyiv.

Russian state media reported that Putin ordered a halt to strikes on Kyiv for three days because of the US visit. Putin also said Russia had not agreed to a ceasefire for the rest of Ukraine outside of the capital and that he would "ensure the security of the negotiating process" and of the mediators.

Why this is happening

The visit comes amid US-led efforts to broker an end to the war in Ukraine. President Donald Trump said on Friday that Witkoff and Kushner were "bringing with them a proposal to end the war." Previous efforts by the US and its allies to reach a deal have so far failed to produce a breakthrough.

The Moscow trip follows a rare visit to the Russian capital by CIA chief John Ratcliffe just over a week earlier. Last year the US, Ukraine and Russia separately suggested a deal was edging closer after a flurry of talks brokered by the Americans, and European allies held discussions in Paris, but significant disagreements remain.

Those disagreements include issues such as territory and security guarantees for Ukraine, which were not resolved in earlier rounds of talks. At the same time, both Russia and Ukraine have intensified aerial attacks in recent months: Ukraine has focused strikes on Russian economic infrastructure, while Kyiv says it struggles to repel ballistic missile attacks due to a lack of interceptor missiles.

How this will affect

There is no clear established outcome yet because neither Washington nor Moscow has published details of what was discussed. A temporary pause in strikes on the capitals, if reciprocated, could allow a diplomatic window for talks, but does not address broader territorial and security disputes.

Putin said such contacts are "undoubtedly always useful" and expressed gratitude to Trump for his peacemaking efforts, adding he was "comfortable" working with the US envoys and that there was a "quite a high level of trust" on the Russian side during this work. Nevertheless, his statement that Russia did not agree to a ceasefire outside Kyiv limits the scope of any immediate de-escalation.

Zelensky reported that Ukraine would refrain from strikes on Moscow during the agreed period and that Kyiv expects reciprocal restraint regarding strikes on Kyiv. However, he also said Russia had carried out "demonstrative" overnight strikes on airports in Kyiv and Boryspil ahead of the planned US meeting in Ukraine, indicating risks of further incidents.

What next

Witkoff and Kushner are scheduled to travel to Kyiv on Sunday for further talks; this will be their first visit to Ukraine, though both have visited Russia several times. It is not clear how the US envoys will travel from Moscow to Kyiv, as Ukraine's airspace has been closed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

There were no official statements detailing what proposals the US envoys were carrying or whether their visits will lead to follow-up agreements. If meetings proceed, discussions could touch on ceasefire arrangements limited to capitals, security guarantees, mechanisms for verification and issues related to territory, but the precise content and any outcomes remain unconfirmed.

Given the lack of public details and the history of stalled negotiations, it is uncertain whether this round of talks will produce a meaningful breakthrough. Both the immediate security situation and the broader political disagreements will determine whether the diplomatic contacts lead to further progress or remain limited to short-term pauses.