President Volodymyr Zelensky began direct negotiations with US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Kyiv on Sunday, Sept. 6, meeting the American delegation at St. Sophia Square.
“Started negotiations,” Zelensky announced in a concise statement confirming the commencement of the talks.
The meeting marks the first visit by US President Donald Trump’s special envoys to Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Witkoff and Kushner traveled to the capital by train following their arrival in the country earlier in the day.
Addressing reporters, Zelensky explained that Ukraine had initially prepared to welcome the American delegation at an airport, but persistent Russian aerial attacks forced the envoys to take overland rail transport instead.
“Unfortunately, the Russians showed with their strikes that they [Witkoff and Kushner] cannot land [in Ukraine] or use a plane, even though we had prepared everything and our airports are operational,” Zelensky said, according to media outlet Hromadske.
Envoys’ arrival and preceding Kremlin talks
Witkoff and Kushner arrived at Kyiv’s central railway station earlier Sunday, where they were met by a high-ranking Ukrainian delegation that included Head of the Office of the President Kyrylo Budanov, First Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Sergiy Kyslytsya, Head of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SZRU) Rustem Umerov, and “Servant of the People” parliamentary faction leader Davyd Arakhamia.
“Welcome to Kyiv, representatives of the President of the United States Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner,” Umerov wrote upon their arrival. “We continue close coordination on further steps to end the war.”
The consultation at St. Sophia Square follows a strategy session Zelensky convened earlier Sunday with Ukraine’s negotiating delegation to finalize Kyiv’s diplomatic platform.
Zelensky reiterated that Ukraine’s objective is to conduct a constructive, disciplined, and realistic dialogue focused on achieving a durable peace, robust security guarantees, and full respect for Ukrainian sovereignty.
The Kyiv negotiations take place after a three-hour-and-10-minute meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the American delegation at the Kremlin on Saturday evening, Sept. 5.
Following the Moscow discussions, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov claimed that Witkoff and Kushner agreed to factor Putin’s frontline assessments into their talks with Ukrainian leadership.
Russian officials described the Kremlin meeting – which included an informal working dinner – as “meaningful” and “frank,” noting that potential large-scale US-Russian commercial projects were discussed alongside settlement proposals.