US envoys head to Kyiv after three-hour Putin meeting as 72-hour ceasefire takes hold

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner sat across from Vladimir Putin for roughly three hours on September 5 in the Kremlin, then packed their bags for Kyiv. The two US envoys are set to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on September 6, marking their first trip to the Ukrainian capital since the Trump administration launched its mediation effort.

The visit comes with a rare, if modest, goodwill gesture: both Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a temporary 72-hour cessation of strikes against each other’s capitals.

What happened in Moscow

The three-hour sit-down at the Kremlin was the latest in a series of engagements between Trump administration officials and Russian leadership that stretches back to late 2025. Previous rounds of talks took place in Moscow and Abu Dhabi, though none produced a breakthrough.

Putin reportedly described the situation as “difficult” while expressing appreciation for the US diplomatic effort.

President Trump said his envoys would present a proposal designed to address the stalled negotiations. No details of that proposal have been made public.

Territorial disputes and security guarantees continue to divide the two sides. Russia controls significant portions of Ukrainian territory seized since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022.

First stop in Kyiv

What makes the September 6 visit notable is that it represents the first time Witkoff and Kushner have traveled to Kyiv as part of this diplomatic initiative. Previous rounds of shuttle diplomacy involved Moscow and third-party locations, but the Ukrainian capital was conspicuously absent from the itinerary.

Zelenskyy has consistently maintained that any peace deal must respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity, a position that sits in direct tension with the reality on the ground.

The broader diplomatic picture

The Trump administration’s mediation effort began in earnest in late 2025, with earlier meetings in Moscow in December 2025 and January 2026, as well as discussions in Abu Dhabi and Florida, focusing on proposals encompassing security guarantees, economic recovery, and territorial disputes.

The conflict, now stretching past its fourth year since the February 2022 invasion, has reshaped European security architecture, redrawn energy markets, and imposed enormous human costs on both nations.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.