Special presidential envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner spent a working day in Kyiv, meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian negotiating team, and representatives from the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. According to Zelenskyy, the American delegation arrived in the Ukrainian capital by train: "The Russians have shown with their strikes that they cannot use an airplane, although we had prepared everything, our airports are operational." Kirill Budanov, Rustem Umerov, and David Arakhamia came to the station to greet the guests.
Negotiations in Several Sessions: From 'Patriots' to the Winter Package
The working consultations took place in several sessions. First, the American team held closed-door talks with the Ukrainian side, after which representatives of the United Kingdom, France, and Germany joined the conversation. Addressing Witkoff and Kushner, Zelenskyy joked: "You worked even better today than the 'Patriot' systems do for our citizens in the capital. Thank you. Come more often and we'll have a chance to live a little." At the same time, the president emphasized the seriousness of the topic: "We had good conversations. You can sometimes joke about 'Patriots,' but we understand that this is a very timely issue. We paid sufficient attention to the winter period, to all the challenges that can genuinely arise."
Trump Sets the Task: Prepare a Package for Peace
Jared Kushner conveyed that President Trump personally tasked him and Witkoff with traveling to Ukraine to resume the negotiation process. "President Trump sends his regards and respect. He is following the situation very closely and is working hard to find a way out of this war. The President is now focused not just on stopping the conflict, but on creating the framework in which a long-term peace can be built," Kushner stated. Witkoff, in turn, emphasized: "I hope everyone understands that this is very important to us and that we are very serious about it. It is very important for us to achieve a result."
Return to the Trilateral Format: The US Sees It as 'More Useful'
Kushner revealed Washington's nearest strategic goal: "Steve and I believe that returning to negotiations in the trilateral format, which we tried six months ago, would be productive. We discussed this with both sides and hope to get back to it soon. It is very important to discuss not only the big issues, but also de-escalation issues. Steve and I consider the trilateral format more useful, because all sides communicate with each other." Thus, the US intends to restore a direct communication channel between Kyiv, Moscow, and Washington, which, according to the American side, was already used around March 2026.
The Winter Package and Europe's Role
Zelenskyy noted that the Ukrainian teams "positively assess our capabilities" in the context of the winter period, and emphasized the dependence on Western support: "If the war continues in winter, we are counting very much on the winter package." Difficult issues, the president said, can only be resolved at the leaders' level. The presence of representatives from the United Kingdom, France, and Germany at the Kyiv consultations confirms that the European 'troika' continues to play the role of mediator and security guarantor in parallel with the American mission.
