After securing an Israel–Hamas ceasefire, President Trump has moved his diplomatic team to the world’s other major conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow for high-stakes talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on a potential framework to end the nearly four-year war in Ukraine.
To start the meeting Putin asking Witkoff and Kushner if they were enjoying Moscow, with Witkoff responding, “It’s a magnificent city.” Turning to the war against Ukraine, Putin reiterated that the current talks are not yet a draft agreement but a set of proposals that “could be the basis for future arrangements.” However, If Kiev rejects them, he warned, Russian forces “will advance further.”
In a post on X, Putin’s foreign policy adviser Kirill Dmitriev, who was present at the talks, called the four-hour meeting “productive” while senior diplomat Yuri Ushakov described the conversation as “useful, constructive, and highly substantive,” but added there was still a “lot of work” to be done.
Just before the talks, though, the Russian leader delivered a sharp warning to Europe, saying that if EU states “start a war with Russia, it will end so swiftly there will be no one left to negotiate with.” He also dismissed European counter-proposals on Ukraine as “absolutely unacceptable” and accused them of trying to undermine Trump’s diplomatic push.
Kyiv responded sharply. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, speaking in Dublin, warned against any deal “behind Ukraine’s back,” saying, “There will be no easy solutions.”
In a statement, The White House confirmed Kushner’s presence and said Witkoff has been speaking with Russian and Ukrainian officials “nearly every day.” Trump himself told reporters that the team is trying to “get it settled,” calling the situation “a mess,” with an estimated 25,000–30,000 casualties per month.
Russia currently controls about 19% of Ukrainian territory. Despite incremental gains around Pokrovsk this year, Moscow has failed to conquer Ukraine outright, and U.S. officials estimate total casualties on both sides at more than 1.2 million. On Thursday, emergency crews in Kyiv and the surrounding region were deployed to multiple strike sites after Russia launched roughly 36 missiles and nearly 600 drones, targeting energy infrastructure and civilian facilities.
The Moscow meeting came days after a leaked 28-point U.S. peace framework triggered alarm in Kyiv and across Europe. Under the proposal, Ukraine would face limits on its military, a permanent bar from joining NATO, and recognition of Russian control over occupied territories. However, European governments fear the emerging deal could be too lenient, potentially opening the door for Russian reintegration into global markets and even a future return to the G8.
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