President Volodymyr Zelensky convened a strategy session with members of Ukraine’s negotiating delegation on Sunday, Sept. 6, ahead of scheduled talks with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
In a statement on Facebook, Zelensky confirmed that the Ukrainian team had finalized its negotiating positions, emphasizing that Kyiv remains committed to a constructive approach aimed at bringing a definitive and just conclusion to the war.
“A meeting with our negotiating team. Ready for the conversation,” Zelensky stated. “Ukraine has always been and will always be constructive. We are interested in bringing an end to the war closer. Peace is needed. Security guarantees are needed. A dignified character of post-war peace is needed.”
The president stressed the necessity of disciplined, coordinated, and realistic diplomatic engagement, underscoring that Ukraine’s core objectives center on durable security arrangements and sovereignty.
Envoys arrive in Kyiv following Kremlin talks
The Kyiv consultations follow a three-hour-and-10-minute meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the US delegation at the Kremlin on Saturday evening, Sept. 5.
Following those discussions, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov claimed that Witkoff and Kushner agreed to factor Russian President Vladimir Putin’s frontline assessments into their dialogue in Kyiv.
Russian officials characterized the Moscow session – which also included an informal working dinner – as “meaningful,” “frank,” and conducted in an atmosphere of mutual trust, noting that potential large-scale US-Russian commercial projects were raised alongside conflict settlement concepts.
The broader US delegation visiting the region included officials from the National Security Council, the State Department, and the Treasury Department.
Gene Lange, acting head of the US Treasury’s sanctions division, traveled to Moscow and held a preparatory session with Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s special representative for economic cooperation.
While Lange did not attend the direct session with Putin, his presence underscored that sanctions policy was part of the dialogue, despite recent assertions by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent ruling out economic concessions without an end to the war.
At the onset of the Moscow talks, Putin confirmed that Russian forces had paused aerial strikes on Kyiv starting at midnight on Sept. 5, but rejected Ukraine’s proposal for a wider three-day frontline ceasefire.
In reciprocal coordination to safeguard the diplomatic process, Zelensky previously pledged that Ukrainian forces would refrain from striking Moscow through Monday as the US envoys conduct their meetings.