KYIV, Ukraine: US envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday that both Russia and Ukraine would need to make “compromises” to end the more than four-year war, after holding talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv a day after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
“It’s going to take both sides to make some compromises and narrow the issues between them,” Witkoff said after the talks, adding that the United States believed it had “the ingredients” to move towards a settlement.
“It is very difficult, but we are committed, we care and we hope all of that leads to a successful peaceful diplomatic resolution,” he said.
US President Donald Trump’s envoys Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Kyiv on Sunday for their first talks in the Ukrainian capital since the war started in February 2022.
We began talks.
Почали перемовини.
🇺🇦 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/UkJV6CzOag— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September 6, 2026
The visit came a day after the two envoys held a three-hour meeting with Putin in Moscow as Washington sought to advance efforts to end the war.
Zelensky calls for leaders’ talks
Zelensky said territorial issues could only be resolved “at the level of leaders”, reiterating his call for direct talks with Putin.
“I want to stick to my view that such complex issues can only be resolved at the level of leaders,” he said.
The Ukrainian leader said there had been a “positive assessment” of Sunday’s discussions but warned that the war appeared likely to continue into the winter.
“We very much hope that we will be able to reach agreements with our American partners,” Zelensky said, adding that Ukraine was also counting on the support of its European partners.
Next round of talks: Ukraine, the United States, and the E3 countries – France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
🇺🇦 🇺🇸 🇬🇧 🇫🇷 🇩🇪 pic.twitter.com/YcNprlhaEE
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September 6, 2026
“If the war continues in winter, and this is how it appears at the moment, even so, the teams today have a positive assessment of our future prospects,” he said.
Ahead of the talks, Zelensky said Ukraine was ready for a substantive discussion aimed at bringing the end of the war closer.
He said Kyiv wanted peace but required security guarantees and what he described as a dignified post-war settlement.
“Ukraine has always been and will remain constructive,” Zelensky said in a social media post. “We are interested in bringing the end of the war closer. Peace is needed. Security guarantees are needed.”
US envoys express optimism
Witkoff said the US delegation was encouraged by the substantive and important meeting with Zelensky.
Kushner said Trump had instructed the US team to find a way to end the war and create the conditions for a long-term and durable peace.
He told Zelensky that Trump was “very determined to see an end of this war” and thanked Britain, Germany and France for their efforts to support peace negotiations.
Witkoff said the US negotiators would continue their efforts for “as long as it takes”.
Zelensky received Witkoff and Kushner at Kyiv’s Saint Sophia Cathedral, near the headquarters of Ukraine’s security services, which was hit by a Russian drone on Friday.
The envoys travelled to Kyiv by train after flying to Poland. Ukraine’s airspace has remained closed since the war started in 2022.
Zelensky said it had not been possible for the delegation’s aircraft to land in Ukraine despite preparations.
‘Constructive’ talks with Putin
The Kyiv meeting followed Saturday’s talks between Witkoff, Kushner and Putin at the Russian President’s official residence in central Moscow.
The three-hour meeting was held behind closed doors, according to Russian state media.
Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov described the discussions as “constructive” and “extremely frank”.
He said the talks went beyond efforts to resolve what Moscow calls the Ukrainian crisis and also covered economic issues and potential major Russian-American projects.
Ushakov said the discussions also noted what he described as tangible advances by Russian forces and the need to address the “root causes” of the conflict.
Putin and Zelensky agreed to halt strikes on each other’s capitals for three days while the US envoys carried out their visits.
