Ukrainian Presidency: Kushner and Witkoff presented 'more viable' proposals to end the war

The two US envoys sent by President Donald Trump to Moscow and then Kyiv have proposed new, “more viable” plans to end the war with Russia, according to the Ukrainian presidency. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed concern that the war could continue into next winter, citing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s reluctance to negotiate with him directly.

A source in the Ukrainian presidency told the Agence France-Presse that the US envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, presented new proposals that could be more viable for ending the war with Russia, noting that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with them. The source stated, “It’s not like before... The meeting was more productive.” The two US envoys departed Kyiv by train.

Ukrainian Railways announced, “The private train carrying Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner has departed. We thank them for their visit and wish them the best,” without specifying the train’s destination. The envoys had previously arrived in Ukraine via Poland.

Earlier, Zelenskyy held initial talks with the US envoys, after which he did not appear optimistic. During a press conference following his meetings with Witkoff and Kushner, Zelenskyy said, “We rely on the support of our European partners if the war continues into the winter, and that seems to be the current situation.”

Witkoff, who had previously welcomed the “very important” talks held in Kyiv after meeting with Kremlin officials, had emphasized that both Moscow and Kyiv must make concessions to find a way out of the war that has been raging since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.