The first meeting between Zelensky and the US envoys Witkoff and Kushner ended in Kiev: significant talks

The first round of talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have concluded in Kiev. According to Witkoff the talks were "significant". Germany's accusations against Russia over the drones at Leipzig airport represent "the beginning of a real war", says Russian Foreign Minister Serghei Lavrov. Meanwhile, the talks between the US envoys and Putin have been described as "extremely frank". The 72 hour truce begins

The first round of talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have concluded in Kiev.

The US president's special envoys had a "constructive and frank" conversation with Vladimir Putin in the past few hours. “The conversation lasted three hours and 10 minutes, it was meaningful, constructive, extremely frank and confidential,” Yuri Ushakov, a Russian presidential adviser who attended the meeting, told reporters. Witkoff and Kushner traveled to Moscow on the mandate of the US president "to continue dialogue on resolving the crisis in Ukraine and discuss other relevant issues", Ushakov said.

Meanwhile, despite the 72-hour truce in the capitals, coinciding with the diplomatic mission, the night was a fiery one in the Zaporizhzhia region: 54 settlements hit, one dead and 25 injured. Ukrainian drones hit a Russian refinery in Ryazan.

Russian Minister Lavrov: "The West's accusations that Moscow was involved in the drone accident in Leipzig constitute, to a large extent, the beginning of a real war."

For further information:

What does the US-Russia peace plan include?

What we know about NATO's "Sentilla dell'Est" operation

Tomahawk, how the missiles that could change the war in Ukraine work

From Bucha to Kramatorsk, up to the pediatric hospital in Kiev: the worst massacres of civilians

Tactical nuclear weapons: what they are, the differences with strategic ones, the effects

Contributions from our correspondent in Ukraine

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Zelensky: "The territorial issue can only be resolved between leaders"

The territorial question can only be "resolved" during meetings between the presidents. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this regarding talks with Russia.

Witkoff: "We need compromises to end the war"

Russia and Ukraine will have to make "compromises" to end the war. This was stated by US special envoy Steve Witkoff.

Zelensky: "Grateful to Europeans for their presence in Kiev"

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked France, Germany and Great Britain for sending their national security advisors to Kiev to participate in talks with American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. “We are very grateful that Europeans are with us today and that we are part of the circle of these countries,” he was quoted as saying by Ukrainian media. "It is very important for us to do everything we can to end this war. We are all on the same side here," he stressed. After two sessions of meetings between the Ukrainian and American delegations, the work was extended to include Europeans. At the end a press conference is scheduled.

Zelensky: "The second round of talks concluded, the third begins"

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that two rounds of talks with US President Donald Trump's special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, have concluded in Kiev, and that a third meeting is planned. Ukrainska Pravda writes it. "We have had two discussions. I am very pleased that we are now coming to a third meeting," Zelensky said. Subsequently, Zelensky announced on social media that the next round of talks will be held with US envoys and representatives of the UK, France and Germany.

Ukraine, Witkoff and Kushner in Kiev for talks with Zelensky

Kushner: "We hope for new paths to peace"

Jared Kushner expressed the hope that the mission carried out with Steve Witkoff will open "new paths" for peace in Ukraine. "We hope that this mission has helped us identify new ways forward. I think we have learned a lot from this trip," Kushner said after talks in Kiev with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which he attended with Steve Witkoff. “President (Donald) Trump has asked us to convey his personal greetings to you and the people of Ukraine,” he told Zelensky. “He said that peace is a very difficult and complex challenge, but that it is worth addressing. Not only to end the current war, but to create the conditions for a long-term, sustainable arrangement that allows Ukraine to direct its courage, ingenuity and strength towards building its future,” he explained.

Witkoff: "Meaningful, substantive, important talks"

US envoy Steve Witkoff said talks he had in Kiev with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky and his team about ending the war with Russia were "substantive" and would continue. “We've had a very meaningful, substantive, important discussion, and we are very encouraged and look forward to continuing this dialogue as long as it takes,” Witkoff said at the end of the talks.

Zelensky: "We are all on the side of a just peace"

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner with whom he held talks this afternoon for the first time in Kiev. "I want to thank our teams, the American team. Thanks to the whole group. We have already had two panel discussions, we will go out with the press a little later," he said in videos released by Ukrainian media. “Here we are all on the same side and we all really want there to be no war, no suffering, that people do not die,” he underlined, “that this war ends with a just peace, fair for all of us.”

Moscow: "Ship with weapons for Kiev hit in the Black Sea"

Russia has struck a merchant ship in the Black Sea carrying goods supplied to the Ukrainian Armed Forces by Western countries. This was announced by the Russian Ministry of Defense, as reported by Tass. The same ministry also reported drone attacks on two logistics centers of Ukrainian forces in the Odessa region.

Media: "In the first round Ukraine-USA focus on Kiev's needs for the winter"

A significant part of the first round of talks between Ukraine and the United States concerned Ukraine's winter needs, sources familiar with the matter told the Kyiv Independent. The country is bracing for a new wave of Russian attacks on its energy grid over the winter months, after Moscow's air campaign last winter destroyed 9 GW of the country's power generation capacity.

Media, first round of talks finished in Kiev: "Positive atmosphere"

The first round of talks in Kiev between the Ukrainian and American teams has concluded, sources told the Kyiv Independent about three hours after it started. A US official told the Kyiv Independent that the talks were taking place in a positive atmosphere. US envoys and Zelensky are soon expected to participate in another round of talks with national security advisers from the UK, France and Germany, according to people familiar with the matter.

Ukraine, Russian attack on logistics warehouse in Dnipro: injured

Russian forces targeted the warehouses of a logistics company in Dnipro. The attack, followed by a fire, left two people injured. The head of the regional military administration of Dnipropetrovsk, Oleksandr Ganzha, made this known on Telegram, reports Ukrinform.

Witkoff praises Putin for the memory he will have of him in retirement

"First of all, President Putin, thank you so much for having us. We were sitting outside just now... and we were all talking about when we retire, we will have so many amazing stories and memories, and yours will be at the top of the list." These are the words that Steve Witkoff told Russian TV that he said to the Russian president at the beginning of the visit. "Surprising" comments also for Sky News which reports them recalling that a negotiator should act in a neutral way to put an end to the invasion wanted by the Tsar which caused hundreds of thousands of deaths. And which outraged Ukrainian parliamentarian Kira Rudik who replied: "I only hope that one day, when Witkoff is retired and tells these stories, they all end the same way: '...and then there was a tribunal. And that was the end of Putin."

First meeting with Witkoff-Kushner ended in Kiev

After about 3 hours, the first round of talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner concluded in Kiev. This was reported by Ukrinform citing informed sources. A second round of negotiations is expected soon with the participation of the national security advisors of Great Britain, Germany and France.

Zelensky: "We are ready for dialogue"

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met "with our negotiating team in view of the meeting with the envoys of the President of the United States". The leader of Kiev himself reported this in a post on X, reiterating that he was "ready for dialogue". Then he added: "Ukraine has always been and will remain constructive. We are interested in the end of the war. We need peace. We need security guarantees. We need a dignified character for post-war peace. Our proposals are ready. It is important to work in a coordinated, substantial and realistic way".

The Kremlin: "The climate of trust with the USA is strengthening"

There is "a climate of trust" between Russia and the United States which is being strengthened through the open communication channel between the two sides. This was stated by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the more than three-hour conversation Russian President Vladimir Putin had yesterday with Donald Trump's envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

"The very fact that the meeting took place means that a climate of trust actually exists, at least through this communication channel, and that it is strengthening," said Peskov, quoted by Tass. Referring to the more detailed exchanges of greetings and messages between the leaders, the Kremlin spokesman added that "they usually take place when there are messages that the head of state deems necessary to convey".

Ukraine, security advisors from France, Germany, UK in Kiev

The national security advisors of France, Germany and Great Britain are in Kiev, where the American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived today. This was reported by the Reuters agency, after the announcement made by the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Kirill Budanov, on the presence of envoys from the three countries. "Representatives of our European partners: France, the United Kingdom and Germany are also in Kiev. We are all working together to achieve a just and lasting peace for Ukraine," Budanov wrote on Telegram. Budanov welcomed Witkoff and Kushner upon their arrival at Kiev station. Together they went to the presidential palace for the meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky.

Kiev protests against new UN world map: "Crimea is ours"

Ukraine has protested against the new world map promoted by the UN because it represents the Russian-occupied Crimea in a different color than the rest of the Ukrainian territory. This was reported by the Kyiv Independent, according to which this was the reason why Kiev abstained on the "Correct the Map" resolution, approved by the General Assembly with 164 votes in favour. "In 2026 the UN should not need to be reminded: Crimea is Ukraine. Shame," Ukrainian MP Kira Rudik wrote on X. Kiev officially called the representation of the peninsula in the new map "completely unacceptable".

The resolution, promoted by Togo and supported by the African Union, aims to encourage the abandonment of the traditional Mercator projection in favor of representations that better respect the real proportions of the continents. In the new map, Crimea appears in grey, rather than the green used for the rest of Ukraine, despite not being represented as part of Russia. Along with Kiev, Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova and Serbia abstained, while the United States was the only country to vote against. The European Union supported the resolution, specifying that it "does not address or modify issues relating to the sovereignty, territorial status or internationally recognized borders of States".

Ukraine, the Pope: "Negotiations bear fruit, open to dialogue". VIDEO

Moscow: "At least 3 civilians killed in raid on Belgorod region"

At least three civilians have died and four others have been injured in Ukrainian attacks carried out in the last 24 hours against the Russian region of Belgorod. This was reported by Governor Alexander Shuvaev, according to whom Kiev forces carried out 102 attacks against 15 locations in the region. The Russian Defense Ministry also announced that in the last 12 hours it had intercepted 258 Ukrainian drones over various regions of the country, Crimea and the waters of the Black Sea and the Sea of ​​Azov.

The Ukrainian General Staff has meanwhile claimed responsibility for attacks against the Ryazan Oil refinery, Rostov-on-Don airport and three Russian air defense systems, reporting fires at the refinery and near the airfield. Kiev also announced the destruction of a Russian communications tower in the Perm region by "partisans".

EU: "Putin is the true underlying cause of the war which should be removed"

“After discussing with US envoys how to achieve peace in Putin's war against Ukraine, Putin again stated that the most important thing is to eliminate the 'root causes' of the war. The 'root causes' of the war are Putin himself, his decisions to occupy Crimea in 2014 and to launch a full-scale invasion in 2022. This is the first time I agree with Putin: the real 'root causes' of the war must be removed!” The European Commissioner for Defense and Space Andrius Kubilius writes it on X.

The meeting between Zelensky and US envoys in Kiev

Zelensky welcomes Witkoff and Kushner: "Negotiations begin"

Talks between the Ukrainian president have begun in Kiev