Trump's emissaries, "encouraged" after their first meeting with Zelensky in Kyiv

BarcelonaWhite House emissaries, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, met this Sunday in Kyiv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in an attempt by the Trump administration to revive peace talks after more than half a year of deadlock, since the United States and Israel launched their offensive against Iran. It is the first time that the two White House envoys have set foot in Ukraine, while they have been to Moscow several times. This same Saturday they made a stop in the Russian capital to meet with President Vladimir Putin.

The entire Ukrainian negotiating team received Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law at the Kyiv train station and then met with the president. Images released by media outlets show Witkoff embracing a smiling Zelenskyy in front of Saint Sophia Cathedral, near the security services headquarters, which a Russian drone attacked two days ago. It was planned for the American delegates to travel by plane to the Ukrainian capital, but Zelenskyy explained to the media that "the Russians did not allow it," despite the preparations that had been made and the truce in both capitals.

It is the first time the two emissaries have traveled to Ukraine, but not the first time they have met with Zelenskyy, who had always had to travel to the United States or other countries. The last meeting of the negotiating teams took place at the end of March in Miami, although the Ukrainian president has met with Trump on two other occasions, at the NATO summit in Turkey and at the White House.

The meeting in Kyiv lasted about three hours, just like the one the day before in Moscow, and the American emissaries assured that the talks had been "substantive and important." "We feel very encouraged," Witkoff told reporters once the meeting, which also included a working lunch, had concluded. For his part, Kushner stated that the American delegation hopes to make more progress in the peace talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. Zelenskyy is also scheduled to meet this Sunday with national security advisors from the United Kingdom, France, and Germany.

Zelensky, who considers US mediation key to advancing an agreement, has insisted that Ukraine is "prepared to dialogue" and that it "has been and will continue to be constructive." "We are interested in nearing the end of the war. Peace is necessary. Security guarantees are needed. The post-war peace must be dignified," he stressed in a message on social media, thereby remaining firm on not accepting any outcome that does not guarantee that Russia will not attack Ukraine again. He said that proposals for a "dignified" peace for Ukraine are ready and that it is important to work "in a coordinated, substantial, and realistic manner.

In the previous meeting in Moscow this Saturday night, the Russian president conveyed the message that he will continue cooperating with the US through diplomatic channels, but made it clear that the Russian army "will achieve the objectives it has set for itself," according to what Russian advisor Yury Ushakov summarized at the end of the meeting.

He described the talks as "constructive and extremely honest." "The talks were not limited to an exchange of opinions on the resolution of the Ukrainian crisis: economic issues and potential important and mutually beneficial Russo-American projects were discussed in considerable detail," he said.

Mutual attacks continue

Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a very limited truce –of three days and only in the two capitals–, coinciding with the trip of Witkoff and Kushner, but mutual attacks have not stopped in the rest of the territory. Ukraine has confirmed that Russian forces have attacked an oil refinery, an airfield, and two air defense systems. The Russian army has also reported the attack on two logistics centers and a merchant ship in the Odessa region, the main Ukrainian port on the Black Sea. For its part, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has reported that it has bombed a refinery in Ryazan and an airfield in Rostov-on-Don.