After Moscow meeting, Trump envoys visit Kyiv in bid to revive peace efforts — SkimNews
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held "encouraging" talks in Kyiv on Sunday — their first official visit to Ukraine — one day after a 3+ hour closed-door Moscow meeting with Putin produced no major breakthroughs.
- Putin and Zelensky agreed to pause strikes on each other's capitals during the talks, yet Russia launched 108 drones (82 intercepted) and 6 missiles overnight into Sunday; Russian attacks across multiple regions killed one person and wounded at least 10.
- Zelensky framed the goal as a "just, fair peace" ensuring no opportunity to "resume aggression," and said national security advisers from Britain, France, and Germany would join a second round of talks later Sunday.
- Putin's foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said the Moscow talks went beyond the war, covering "economic issues and potentially large, mutually beneficial joint projects for Russia and America" in "considerable detail."
- The Trump administration's peace push has "lost momentum" over the past six months as focus shifted to the Iran war; Russia's new fast-flying jet-powered drones and the 1,250-km front line where troops have struggled underline the diplomatic challenge.
- Pope Leo XIV renewed his appeal for negotiations to "bear concrete fruit," while Kyiv residents like 27-year-old Oleksandr Pastukhov expressed skepticism — telling reporters, "we've already seen delegations like this come here before."
Why it matters: This is the first tangible U.S. diplomatic step on Ukraine in months, with the Trump administration's peace effort stalled by its Iran focus. The inclusion of British, French, and German security advisers signals allied coordination, yet overnight drone exchanges — 108 launched, 82 intercepted — and Moscow's parallel pursuit of "large, mutually beneficial joint projects" show the diplomatic and military tracks are running simultaneously, with Kyiv residents openly skeptical that this round will outlast previous short-lived ceasefires.
Ask SkimNews
