U.S. envoy visits Ukraine, prospects for peace talks remain unclear

The Americans arrived on a train that Ukrainians called the "Peace Express." However, the process of ending the war was neither quick nor straightforward, and there are no signs that this will change anytime soon.

U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Ukraine on Sunday, fresh off a trip to Moscow with what President Trump said was a proposal to end the nearly five-decade war.

But the Trump administration, which is itself mired in the war with Iraq, has put the peace process into a deep freeze, so this trip is just a preliminary step to discuss how to resume negotiations. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the war looked set to continue at least into what analysts say could be a devastating winter for the country.

"This is a very, very difficult question, but we're going to try," Kushner said of talks to end the war. "I think it would be amazing if we could do it. It doesn't mean we can, but it's important to try."

Kushner said "new ideas" came up in a series of discussions with Zelensky on Sunday. He gave no details and declined to give a timetable for any potential resolution.

Ukrainian leaders have provided few details about their talks with the United States. At a press conference after the meeting, he said "all possibilities" for resuming negotiations were discussed, as well as "several real new ideas."

When pressed on when follow-up talks would take place, Witkov, Kushner and Zelensky's responses seemed to follow the same pattern: "soon" or "hopefully soon."

Ukrainian officials had been saying before the U.S. arrival that they expected talks to resume in earnest later this month, after Russia's parliamentary elections and before the U.S. midterm elections.

The talks, if held, would come against the backdrop of an escalating air war between Moscow and Kiev and as Russia pushes to accelerate its slow territorial expansion in Ukraine's eastern Donbass region. Analysts say the war will only get more brutal in the coming months, as Russia seeks to launch a decisive blow against Kiev in the winter and both sides try to gain the upper hand in negotiations for a final settlement.

While it remains to be seen whether peace talks can resume after a six-month stagnation, Witkov and Kushner's visit is significant for Ukraine because it finally allows the two Americans to step out of Moscow's "echo chamber."

The two envoys' visit to Kiev, their first after several visits to Russia, ended on Sunday evening. The trip gives the Ukrainians a chance to present facts rather than just words, trying to clarify their position while ensuring the Trump administration does not revert to the overtly pro-Russian stance it had earlier in the negotiation process.

Ukrainians began building symbolism before the envoy arrived in Kiev. The train journey included an elaborate meal for the food-loving Witkov and Kushner, which included an array of Crimean Tatar dishes that highlighted Ukraine's ties to the peninsula illegally annexed by Russia more than a decade ago.

Upon arrival, Zelensky greeted the envoys at the landmark Sofia Square, where an impossible-to-ignore memorial tribute to fallen soldiers was on display, and then took them into the historic church, a symbol of Ukraine's national identity.

Zelensky's negotiator later wore a joke T-shirt that said "Kiev Regime," mocking the slur Russian President Vladimir V. Putin uses to refer to the Ukrainian government.

Zelensky also joked, telling Witkov and Kushner to "come here more often" after the Kremlin agreed to temporarily halt its round-the-clock crackdown on Kiev during their visit.

For many Ukrainians, this is the best and only predictable outcome, at least in the near term.