US envoys travel to Kyiv after meeting with Putin

Live blog Ukrainian war:

US envoys travel to Kyiv after meeting with Putin

Sep 6, 2026, 4:15 a.m. Reading time: 1 min.

Kremlin chief Putin (M) in conversation with Witkoff (2nd from left) and Kushner (2nd from right)AFP

The White House and Kremlin comment positively on talks in Moscow +++ Zelensky expects US envoys in Kiev on Sunday +++ Attacks on Kiev and Moscow are to be suspended for a short time +++ all news in the live blog

You can also find all texts, background information and comments on the war in Ukraine on our special page.

Vanessa Angerman

US envoys travel to Kyiv after meeting with Putin

After meeting with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow, US mediators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner travel to Kiev for the first time for talks about a possible end to the war in Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyj wants to receive US President Donald Trump's envoys in the Ukrainian capital today. The visit will take place under the protection of a local, three-day ceasefire declared by Zelensky and Putin. Moscow has pledged to refrain from air strikes against the city of Kiev for the safety of US envoys.

Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law left the Kremlin that night after a three-hour conversation with Putin. According to reports, the conversation initially did not produce any tangible results. Putin's foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov then spoke of constructive, content-rich and trusting discussions.

The White House said Witkoff and Kushner had discussed “concrete plans” with Putin for the next steps to end the war in Ukraine. The plans should be announced in the coming weeks.

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Putin receives Witkoff and Kushner for almost three hours

The new talks on the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine between Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin and US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, which were scheduled at short notice, have come to an end in Moscow. After around three hours of discussions, US President Donald Trump's two envoys left the Kremlin that night, as state media reported and also published a video of the motorcade.

Nothing is yet known about the results of the discussions. However, high-ranking Russian government official Kirill Dmitriyev described the trip on Platform X as an “important peace visit”. Dmitriev, who attended the meeting, published this statement along with photos of him saying goodbye to Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner at a Moscow airport. There is currently no statement from the USA.

Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law want to travel on to Kiev, where they will be received by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky this Sunday. According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov, the US negotiators had new proposals in their luggage. Peskov did not give any details. Trump also said that Witkoff and Kushner had a proposal.

"Dear colleagues, I warmly welcome you to Moscow. The situation is of course not easy," Putin told the US envoys in a video broadcast by Russian state television at the start of the talks. The welcome took place in a large hall in the Kremlin. Before the talks begin, Putin said he would “ask everyone to send their best wishes and words of gratitude to US President Trump.”

Putin also said that Moscow would guarantee the safety of the envoys in Kiev - after the Russian army had recently repeatedly shelled the Ukrainian capital. “We will do everything in our power to ensure the security of the negotiation process and mediators like you,” Putin told Witkoff and Kushner.

Putin has ordered a three-day ceasefire in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. It is intended to ensure that Witkoff and Kushner, who have already been to Russia several times for talks, can visit Kiev for the first time. The Kremlin chief had kept the two of them waiting for a long time on Saturday. He put a new metro line in Moscow and a new, huge oil terminal and pipeline in Siberia into operation via video link. Zelensky confirmed that he was expecting Trump's two envoys in Kiev on Sunday.

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Zelensky announces halt to attacks on Moscow

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced that Ukraine will not attack Moscow from the air in the coming days as long as Russia does not attack the Ukrainian capital during this time.

On Saturday afternoon, Zelensky wrote on social media that he had already spoken to the American special envoys who had arrived in Moscow. Since the end of the telephone conversation and until Monday evening, he announced that attacks against Moscow would be refrained from if Russia acted in a mirror image.

The plan for the visit of envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Kiev is in place. “We are ready for a substantive conversation,” added Zelensky.

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Putin orders three-day pause in attacks on Kyiv

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a halt to attacks on the Ukrainian capital Kiev for three days. Putin gave the “order not to attack Kiev for three days from midnight today,” the Russian state news agency Tass quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying on Saturday. This decision is related to the “preparation and establishment of contacts” with the US delegation expected in Kiev.

The Russian news agencies Ria Novosti and Tass had previously reported that US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had arrived in Moscow on Saturday afternoon. According to the information, they are supposed to meet Russian ruler Vladimir Putin there. They are expected later for talks in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.

American President Donald Trump announced a new diplomatic push to end the war. He called Witkoff and his son-in-law Kushner “two great negotiators” on Friday. He added: “We sent them there to see if we could achieve something.” Witkoff and Kushner brought an American plan to end the war with them for their talks in Moscow.

A photo published on the X account of Russian special envoy Kirill Dmitriev (center) shows Jared Kushner (left) and Steve Witkoff (right) at Vnukovo Airport in Moscow on Saturday. AFP

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US special envoys will probably meet Dmitriyev in Moscow

US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have arrived in Moscow, according to Russian news agencies. According to an insider, they will meet Russian presidential adviser Kirill Dmitriev when they arrive in Moscow on Saturday. The Reuters news agency learned this from two people familiar with the visit. Dmitriev told Reuters in June that he had remained in touch with US negotiators during a break in visits. He also attended all previous meetings of U.S. envoys with Russian President Vladimir Putin and was involved in negotiating exemptions from U.S. sanctions on Russian oil this year.

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Zelensky reports Russian attacks on airports

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia attacked the airports of Kiev and the nearby city of Boryspil ahead of the visit of two US special envoys. Ukrainian airspace has been closed since Russia's large-scale invasion began in February 2022. However, according to Zelensky, the possibility was discussed that US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner could use a plane for their expected visit to Kiev on Sunday. “Obviously, these ‌Russian attacks on the airports are a response to the discussions and preparations for a possible deployment of a US aircraft in Ukraine with landing at Kiev airport or Boryspil airport,” Zelenskyy explains on Telegram. “Russian-Iranian drones in response to American diplomacy.”

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Sabrina Frangos

Russia: US should consider realities on the ground

Ahead of a possible visit by its special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Moscow and Kiev, Russia is calling on the ‌US to take battlefield realities into account in ‌talks about an ‌end to the conflict. The situation is changing to Ukraine's disadvantage, says Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, according to the Russian state news agency Tass. “The key question is to what extent the U.S. government is willing to invest in finding a real solution to the current crisis, given the realities on the ground.” According to media reports, Witkoff and Kushner are traveling to Russia and - for the first time since the beginning of the war - to Ukraine at the weekend. US President Donald Trump said on Friday that the aim of Witkoff and Kushner's trip abroad was to reach a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. There is currently no confirmation of the visit from the Russian presidential office. The government in Kiev said two high-ranking US representatives would come to Ukraine on Sunday.

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Sabrina Frangos

Before US mediation: dead in air strikes on Ukraine

Four people were killed in a Russian airstrike in the Dnipropetrovsk region of Ukraine ahead of a US mediation mission in the Ukraine war. The attack hit an industrial plant in the city of Kamianske, regional governor Olexander Hanscha said on Telegram. There were six injured. The Russian military in Moscow spoke of an attack on a large metal combine that supplies the Ukrainian defense industry.

Impacts by Russian drones were also reported in the Kyiv area during the night. However, 59 Ukrainian drones were repelled over Russia during the night, as the Defense Ministry in Moscow announced. The comparatively low number suggests that Ukraine is, as announced, observing a ceasefire due to the visit of US mediators.

Special envoy Steve Wittkoff and Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, are reportedly expected in Moscow today. They are scheduled to visit Kiev for the first time tomorrow, Sunday, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced.

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Sabrina Frangos

Trump sends mediators to Kyiv and Moscow

Negotiations about an end to the Ukraine war could get moving again with US mediation. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a weekend visit by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. It was discussed that both would first visit Moscow and then travel to Kiev for the first time on Sunday, Zelensky said in a video message. There was initially no official confirmation of media reports about the alleged start of an at least one-sided ceasefire over the weekend, which Zelensky had declared.

The Russian side kept a low profile. According to the Russian state news agency Tass, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded to the question of when Witkoff and Kushner were expected in Moscow: "I will not announce anything. When these contacts take place, we will inform about it."

When asked by reporters at the White House, Trump confirmed that he had sent his two negotiators. He did not give any specific dates. Trump said they would bring a proposal to end the Ukraine war - he also failed to provide details on this. “We sent them there to see if we could achieve something,” he simply said.

As with previous US mediation efforts in the war, the Republican was optimistic that this could succeed. However, a real breakthrough has not yet been achieved - although Trump once announced that he could end the war within 24 hours.

Zelensky said the goal was to facilitate the most constructive and meaningful visit and negotiations with the US side so that this war could be brought to an end. He announced that Ukraine - "as it has done during previous diplomatic visits from the US side" - would ensure the security of Russian airspace so that negotiators could arrive safely. He promised that there would be no air strikes from the Ukrainian side. Russia must react in a mirror image, said Zelensky.

However, on Saturday night there were again air alerts and reports of explosions in the greater Kiev area. According to the Kyiv Independent news portal, there was a wave of drone strikes that damaged a nine-story apartment block in the suburb of Boryspil. Two women were injured, it said, citing military governor Tymur Tkachenko. The information could not initially be independently verified.

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Ukrainian intelligence headquarters hit by Russian drone

According to F.A.Z. information, the headquarters of the Ukrainian domestic secret service SBU in Kiev was hit by a Russian drone. The AFP news agency also writes about such an attack, citing a reporter. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj said on the Telegram online service that the attack was “directly” aimed at the office of the intelligence chief. The head of state therefore instructed SBU boss Olexander Poklad to respond to the Russians in a “mirror image” to this blow.

According to the news agency, AFP reporters saw several ambulances near the building in the center of the Ukrainian capital. According to the city administration, at least seven people were injured in the attack. According to the Reuters news agency, thick black smoke rises above the building that was hit. It is one of the most important government buildings in Ukraine.

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Freelance journalist Christian-Zsolt Varga was on site in Kiev when the domestic secret service headquarters was hit by a drone. He wrote down for us what he e