Trump’s special envoy visits Kiev and meets with Zelensky, fundamental differences between Ukraine and Russia still exist

The talks in Kiev have a strong symbolic meaning. It was the first time Donald Trump's envoys had set foot on Ukrainian soil since Russia's full-scale invasion, and the day before Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had held talks with Vladimir Putin in Moscow because they "needed to understand his position."

After the two arrived in Poland by plane, they had to take a train to Kiev because their plane might be at risk of Russian drone attacks. And the weapons were fired on the orders of the very man they had sat at the Kremlin negotiating table just hours before.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed Witkov and Kushner at Kiev's Saint Sophia Cathedral, which was equally symbolic. Not only is the church a symbol of Ukraine's rich history, it is also just yards from the headquarters of the country's security services, which was hit by a Russian drone on Friday.

The message Zelensky wanted to convey was clear without much interpretation.

The two sides held multiple rounds of closed-door talks on Sunday (September 6), which lasted several hours, and were later joined by some European national security advisers, including British National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell.

After the meeting, all parties expressed that the discussion had substantial content and the tone was quite warm. Witkov said he was "encouraged" by the "substantive" and important talks in Kiev. They spoke hopefully of restarting past "trilateral talks" involving the United States and Europe; Zelensky told reporters that the two sides had agreed that Ukrainian, European and American officials would meet in the near future to continue consultations, and he also called for a trilateral meeting with Russia and the United States.

"We are confident that a good solution will be reached here," Witkov said, adding that negotiators "made a lot of progress in Moscow," referring to talks between the two men on Saturday.

Asked about the Moscow talks, Kushner said the U.S. team was "combing through a lot of ideas that have not worked so far" and "thinking hard" about the elements needed to achieve a "lasting peace." "It was a very good conversation, he (Putin) asked a lot of questions and we asked a lot of questions," he said.

Fundamental differences remain

Despite the warm atmosphere of the talks, fundamental differences still exist.

The U.S. envoy's trip came immediately after a trip to Moscow, where Putin told them that Russia was making "real progress" on the battlefield.

But what they heard in Ukraine was completely different, even the opposite: Ukrainian officials said they had regained more territory than they had lost in August, while Russia suffered 42,000 casualties — killed or wounded.

Putin also told the U.S. envoy that the root causes of the conflict must be addressed, a euphemism for his long-standing strategic demands that Ukraine cede territory, abandon hopes of joining NATO and reduce the size of its military.

After the talks, Zelensky insisted that Ukraine needed "strong and clear" security guarantees, including a strong military. He has also shown no sign of being willing to give up any territory in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, an issue he downplayed as "tricky."

Witkov insisted that progress had been made and that all the elements for an agreement were in place, but he acknowledged that compromises would still have to be made to narrow the differences. At present, it seems difficult for both parties to do this.

A tough winter is coming

Zelensky stressed that if the war continues into the winter, "which seems to be the case at the moment," Ukraine will need air defense and energy support.

Ukraine has relied on U.S.-made Patriot interceptor missiles to counter Russian ballistic missiles, but the U.S. has depleted much of its stockpile in its war with Iran.

In past years, Russia has focused its attacks on energy infrastructure during the winter months. Zelensky said Ukraine needed to develop its own anti-ballistic missile system, but added that the United States would increase production next year and Ukraine was "counting on" that.

Therefore, Kiev's current expectation is that the fighting will continue and they will have a difficult winter. Some diplomats believe there may be a window of opportunity for a deal next spring, while others are less optimistic.

While negotiators were traveling, Putin and Zelensky agreed to halt attacks on each other's capitals for three days. Zelensky thanked the U.S. envoy for the visit, as the agreement reached on a short-term cessation of air strikes gave Kiev people a brief respite, but few expected this situation to last long.

During the night, Russia and Ukraine continued to launch attacks on each other. Ukraine confirmed it hit an oil refinery, an airport and two air defense systems. Earlier, the Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia used 108 long-range drones and small cruise missiles to attack Ukraine. The Ukrainian air defense forces shot down 82 drones and 6 missiles, but 11 locations were hit, and debris fell in 7 other locations.

According to Russian state media reports, the Moscow talks on Saturday (5th) were held behind closed doors in the Kremlin and lasted for three hours. Putin adviser Yuri Ushakov described the talks as "constructive and extremely candid" and said the two sides discussed resolving war, economic problems and potential "mutually beneficial projects between Russia and the United States." Ushakov also said the talks "took note of the actual progress of Russian troops in the combat zone" and that both sides acknowledged the need for talks to address "the root causes of the conflict."