US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow on Thursday to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, a day after talks in Abu Dhabi on ending Ukraine’s war ended without a public breakthrough.
According to BBC World, the envoys were due to meet Putin at 12:00 local time. The outlet reported that they will then fly to Dublin to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The Abu Dhabi talks ended with no public breakthrough in the wider negotiation, according to the Moscow Times. That outlet reported that they did bring news of another planned major prisoner exchange, though the sources do not give its size or timing.
The Moscow Times also reported that the Abu Dhabi talks were the first direct US-mediated negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in nine months. The US side said differences remained on major issues, including territory.
Russian and Ukrainian negotiators reported some progress, according to the Moscow Times. The US account differs, and the outlet attributes it to the US side, which said major differences remain.
Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev met Kushner and Witkoff on the runway and accompanied them to central Moscow, according to the Moscow Times.
Speaking before the Moscow visit, Kushner said the US had seen "some openings and some opportunities" and would try to "make some progress" with Putin. He also said the envoys would ask Putin to "give his blessing" to invite European representatives to future talks.
Russia has opposed European involvement, citing Europe’s support for Kyiv as an obstacle. A senior Russian diplomat said Moscow could conclude non-aggression pacts with NATO states.
The talks are deadlocked on territory. Kyiv has strongly rejected Putin’s demand that it surrender the whole of the eastern Donbas region, so US mediators have turned to postwar security guarantees and reconstruction, according to the sources.
Zelensky also said Ukraine’s military faced "systematic" restrictions on Starshield, the SpaceX satellite internet service that plays a key role in frontline communications. He said the restrictions helped Russia carry out more accurate strikes. BBC World reported that Musk denied deliberately throttling Ukraine’s connection. That claim rests on BBC World alone, and the sources contain no Kremlin response to it. Zelensky’s claim of systematic restrictions has not been independently verified.
NPR World provided only a headline and a short excerpt, so its account could not be checked beyond the prisoner exchange agreement and the meeting days. NPR World says Zelensky’s meeting is on Friday, while BBC World gives no date for the Dublin talks. The sources do not confirm that the Dublin meeting has taken place.
No outcome of the Putin meeting is available yet. Any Kremlin agreement on inviting European representatives to future talks is unconfirmed.
Sources
This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.