In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, and U.S. President Donald Trump's envoys Jared Kushner, left, and Steve Witkoff talk in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026.(Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
Washington’s envoys have brought new, “more effective” proposals on ending the war with Russia to Kiev, a senior Ukrainian presidential official has told.
On Sept. 6, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had said the war with Russia looked likely to continue into the winter.
While both he and the U.S. envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, had given upbeat assessments of the talks, neither announced any breakthroughs on ending the conflict.
But the senior Ukrainian official told AFP: “It’s not the same as it was before. This one now is more effective. They’re still talking. This is actually the most important part.”
Witkoff, who is President Donald Trump’s business ally, and Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, travelled to Kiev a day after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, the latest of several visits to the city.
Ukraine’s rail operator announced their departure from Kiev in a post on Telegram early on Sept. 7, accompanied by a photo of the two envoys’ standing under a station sign announcing the “Peace Express.”
Sept. 6’s visit to Kiev was their first to the Ukrainian capital, which has been enduring deadly Russian strikes for more than four years.
Zelensky said: “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.”
Zelensky also said Ukraine would hold talks with the U.S., France and Germany, but did not elaborate. And he repeated his call that only a meeting between the two leaders could solve territorial issues.
Thanking the US envoys for their visit, Zelensky said on X: “The main thing is to achieve peace for Ukraine, a dignified, reliable, and lasting peace. We are directing all our efforts toward this.”
