in brief
- Despite renewed US diplomatic efforts and talks with both Russia and Ukraine, no concrete agreement to end the war has been reached.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the conflict appears likely to continue into the coming months.
Despite the latest push from the United States to speak to the leaders of Russia and Ukraine in their respective capitals, a breakthrough in peace negotiations appears no closer.
The US delegation said that "substantive plans will be announced in the coming weeks" during its stay in Moscow.
However, war with Russia "at the moment" looked likely to continue into the coming months, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday, after talks with the envoys in Kyiv.
US envoy Steve Witkoff and Zelenskyy both gave upbeat assessments of the talks, but neither announced any breakthroughs on ending the war with Russia.
Witkoff, who is President Donald Trump's business ally, and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, travelled to Kyiv a day after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow — the latest of several visits to the city.
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Sunday's trip to Kyiv was their first visit to the Ukrainian capital, which has been hit by deadly Russian strikes for more than four years.
Zelenskyy said: "We very much hope that we will be able to reach agreements with our American partners, and we are counting on the support of our European partners if the war continues in winter — and this is how it appears at the moment."
Zelenskyy also said that Ukraine would hold talks with the US, France and Germany, but did not elaborate.
The Ukrainian leader, who has previously called for a meeting with Putin, reiterated his call that only a meeting between leaders could resolve territorial issues.
Moscow occupies large swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine, and the Kremlin told the Americans Saturday it was feeling "confident" it would advance more.
Moscow has said it wants not just the territories it occupies but the land it claims as Russian to be recognised as its own — terms unacceptable to Kyiv.
'On the same side'
Witkoff said both sides would need to compromise.
"We think we have the ingredients to get to that place," he said.
"We've had a very meaningful discussion, substantive, important, and we are very encouraged and we look forward to continuing this as long as it takes."
Kushner added: "Hopefully this trip has come out with some new ways to advance forward. I think we've learned a lot from the trip."
Witkoff and Kushner travelled to the region hoping to revive the Trump administration's push for peace in Europe's worst conflict since World War II, after a summer of escalation.
Another round of talks in the presence of British, French and German representatives was still ongoing.
Zelenskyy said he was grateful the Europeans were there, adding: "Here we are all on the same side."
Like all visiting officials, the American delegation had arrived by train, with "Peace Express" written on the platform at Kyiv Central Station.
Zelenskyy said Kyiv had "prepared everything to make our airports operational", but Russian strikes had made flying in impossible.
Ukrainian airspace has been closed since Russia launched its invasion in 2022.
Russia and Ukraine vowed not to strike each other's capitals during the US envoys' trip.
'Substantive plans'
Moscow's invasion has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions.
A White House official said in a statement to AFP that in Moscow the envoys had "discussed substantive plans which will be announced in the coming weeks".
Without elaborating, the Kremlin said the Americans had "put forward a number of ideas on possible routes to a settlement".
Putin has repeatedly said Moscow intends to seize the rest of eastern Ukraine, and Russia increased deadly strikes this summer.
Since Putin launched the invasion in February 2022, the war has dragged on with no end in sight.
Despite the ceasefire pledges for the capital cities, fighting continued elsewhere.
Ukraine's air force said Russia had attacked overnight with 108 drones and missiles, while Moscow said it had shot down 258 drones.
Ukraine said Saturday that 10 people were killed by Russian strikes, including an 11-year-old boy.
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