Putin tells US envoys Witkoff, Kushner that situation in Ukraine is 'difficult'

“We have an idea for peace.” US President Donald Trump says Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner carry a war-ending proposal as they travel from Moscow to Kyiv.

06 Sep 2026 01:20AM (Updated: 06 Sep 2026 04:51AM)

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin met US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in the Kremlin on Saturday (Sep 5), telling them at the start of the talks that the situation in Ukraine is "difficult."

The envoys are expected to head to Kyiv the next day, with Russia and Ukraine vowing not to strike each other's capitals during talks on ending more than four years of war. 

Putin praised US President Donald Trump's efforts to end the 4-1/2-year war in Ukraine. 

"Understanding that he is entering a difficult situation, he nevertheless does not stop his efforts to help bring about a settlement and to make his contribution to resolving the Russian-Ukrainian conflict," Putin said.

As in previous meetings, Putin was flanked by his foreign-policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, and his investment envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, who met the two visitors at the airport, took them to a restaurant, and then accompanied them to the Kremlin.

Putin told Witkoff and Kushner that contacts between Moscow and Washington were always beneficial, and that Russia found it convenient to work with them.

Witkoff said that US President Donald Trump had sent his best wishes to Putin and thanked him for the ceasefire during the delegation's visit. Putin said Russia would do its utmost to ensure the safety of the mediators.

Earlier, Trump said the envoys, his son-in-law Kushner and business ally Witkoff, were bringing "a proposal to end the war".  

The envoys are expected to head for their first visit to Kyiv on Sunday, in Washington's latest bid to break a diplomatic stalemate in Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II.  

Both the Kremlin and Kyiv vowed not to strike their main cities during the talks, after months of escalating attacks. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the US officials have "already begun working with the Russian side today."

Earlier, he accused Russia of trying to disrupt their visit with overnight strikes on Kyiv's two airports, as well as on a civilian target in the Dnipro region that killed five people. 

"Clearly, these Russian strikes on the airports are a reaction to the discussions and preparations for the possibility of the US side using an aircraft to travel to Ukraine," Zelenskyy said on X.

It will be the first time that Witkoff and Kushner visit Kyiv since Trump returned to office last year with a pledge to resolve the conflict.

Travelling to Kyiv by plane would be a highly unusual move, with Ukrainian airspace closed since 2022 because of the war. Visiting leaders and officials have generally travelled by train.

"AN IDEA FOR PEACE"

Trump told reporters the envoys would seek to gauge whether progress towards peace was possible.

Peace efforts have stalled, in part because of Washington's war with Iran, while Moscow and Kyiv have intensified long-range attacks, driving up civilian casualties to levels not seen since the start of fighting in February 2022.

"I sent Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, two great negotiators. They've done a great job, and we sent them over to see whether or not we can get something done. And there may be a good chance that we'll do it," Trump said.

The US president would not say whether the plan the envoys were bringing involved Ukraine ceding territory as he has previously suggested, but added: "We have an idea for peace."

Witkoff and Kushner, who have been involved in negotiations for ceasefires in Gaza and Iran, have travelled repeatedly to Moscow in previous attempts at diplomacy.

The renewed push for diplomacy comes as Russia and Ukraine pummel each other with long-range missile and drone attacks.

Just hours before Trump's announcement on Friday, a Russian drone struck the headquarters of Ukraine's SBU security service in central Kyiv, according to Zelensky. 

The strike, which Zelensky said was aimed at the office of the agency's acting chief, was the first on its headquarters since the start of Russia's offensive. 

Overnight, a Russian strike killed five people and wounded five others in the southeastern city of Kamianske, said Oleksandr Ganzha, head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration.

Witkoff and Kushner's visit comes after a rare trip to Moscow last month by CIA director John Ratcliffe, who warned Russia against any attack on NATO member states, according to US media.

Earlier this week, the United States welcomed the Russian finance minister at a G20 gathering in North Carolina.

VAST GULF REMAINS

Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev told Reuters in June that he had remained in contact with the US negotiators during a pause in their visits to Russia. Dmitriev took part in all their previous meetings with President Vladimir Putin. He also played a role in negotiating US sanction waivers for Russian oil this year.

A vast gulf remains between Russia and Ukraine on how to end the 4-1/2-year-old war, the deadliest in Europe since World War Two.

The Kremlin said on Friday the position that Putin set out in a speech two years ago - that Ukraine should cede the entire territory of four regions claimed by Russia and abandon its plan to join NATO - was "unshakeable".

Since the last peace talks in February, each side has intensified long-range air attacks deep inside the other's territory, while the war at sea has also escalated.

On the ground, the front lines have remained largely static, with Russia making only gradual gains in its attempt to take the whole of Ukraine's Donbas region.

Ukraine's drone strikes on Russian oil refineries have led to a summer of fuel shortages and rising prices for Russian motorists, while some 30 attacks on giant warehouses belonging mostly to Wildberries, the country's biggest online retailer, have affected the consumer economy.