US envoys Witkoff, Kushner put forward 'number of ideas' on Ukraine to Putin: Kremlin
Putin told the US envoys at the start of the talks that the situation in Ukraine is "difficult".
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump's son-in-law, as US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff stands nearby during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia on Sep 5, 2026. (Photo: Reuters/Sputnik)
MOSCOW: US envoys proposed a "number of ideas" on how to end the Ukraine war in "frank" talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin late on Saturday (Sep 5), Moscow said, ahead of their first trip to Kyiv.
US President Donald Trump's business partner Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner met Putin for more than three hours, the Kremlin said, as Washington tries to revive negotiations to end Europe's worst conflict since World War II.
The White House later said the envoys discussed "substantive plans" for the next steps toward ending the Ukraine war, which will be announced in the coming weeks. It added that the envoys were looking forward to equally productive meetings in Ukraine.
Their visit to Moscow comes after the war - which has killed hundreds of thousands and forced millions to flee their homes - escalated this summer. It also follows a visit last month to Moscow by the director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), while the US welcomed the Russian finance minister at a G20 gathering in North Carolina earlier this week.
Putin told the US envoys at the start of the talks that the situation in Ukraine is "difficult".
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov later called the talks "extremely frank", saying the Americans "put forward a number of ideas on possible routes to a settlement", but did not elaborate.
The Russian side also told the Americans that Moscow was "confident" it could achieve its military goals of seizing the rest of eastern Ukraine, Ushakov added.
It was Kushner and Witkoff's eighth visit to Moscow during the war - but it will be their first in the Ukrainian capital, hit by deadly Russian strikes throughout the war.
As in previous meetings, Putin was flanked by his foreign policy aide, 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
Both Russia and Ukraine have vowed not to strike each others' capitals for three days to allow for the negotiations to take place.
ENVOYS FLY OUT
In televised comments before the talks, Putin said Russia would ensure the safety of the envoys in Kyiv - a city Moscow has pounded with deadly strikes throughout the war.
"We will do everything that depends on us to ensure the safety of the negotiation process and mediators such as yourselves," Putin told Witkoff and Kushner.
A day earlier, Kyiv said Russia had struck the headquarters of its SBU security services in the city's historic centre with a drone.
Russia's TASS news agency reported the Americans had flown out of Moscow.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was expecting the envoys on Sunday and it was unclear how they would get to Kyiv by then.
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.
PUTIN THANKS TRUMP
Earlier on Saturday, Putin had thanked Trump for persisting in his efforts to end the war -- launched by Russia in 2022 -- despite it being "not simple".
Of the envoys' trip to Kyiv, he said: "No matter what happens next, contacts of this kind are undoubtedly always beneficial."
Trump said on Friday his envoys were bringing a "proposal" on ending fighting.
"We have an idea for peace," he said, without elaborating.
Russia occupies large swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine and Putin has insisted Moscow is intent on seizing the rest of east Ukraine.
Witkoff and Kushner arrived in Moscow after a summer of escalation that saw a drastic rise in civilian deaths on both sides.
Kyiv said on Saturday that Russian strikes had killed 10 people across the country Saturday, including a child and his family members in the Kharkiv region and two people outside Kyiv.
LIMITED TRUCE
Both Moscow and Kyiv have said they would halt strikes on each others cities to allow for negotiations.
"The Russian president, the commander-in-chief, has given the order from midnight not to strike Kyiv for three days," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Zelenskyy - who had offered a truce during the US visits - later said he had spoken to the US envoys and also promised Kyiv would not strike Moscow.
"From now through the end of Saturday, as well as on Sunday and Monday, Ukraine is ready to refrain from strikes on Moscow," Zelenskyy said.
On Saturday, Putin said he had "noted that the Ukrainian side significantly reduced" its strikes on Russia and Moscow.
VAST GULF REMAINS
Russian presidential envoy 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 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 4.5-year war.
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.
