Kyiv (Dispatches) - Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has held a first round of talks in Kyiv with Donald Trump’s top envoys.
Steve Witkoff told reporters the U.S. team felt “encouraged” by what he called a “substantive” and important discussion.
Ahead of the meeting, Zelensky said Ukraine was ready to talk about bringing “the end of the war closer”. But he said security guarantees would be required as well as a dignified post-war peace.
Witkoff said that the U.S. negotiators would continue for “as long as it takes”, praising Zelensky for his “unsurpassed” hospitality on their trip.
The Ukrainian leader earlier greeted Witkoff and Jared Kushner at Kyiv’s St Sophia Cathedral, near where a Russian drone hit the headquarters of Ukraine’s security services on Friday.
On Saturday, the two envoys met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow for talks on ending the war that were described as “frank” and “constructive” by the Kremlin.
The envoys travelled to Kyiv by train after flying to Poland – Zelensky told the media that it was not possible for them to land their plane despite preparations.
Putin and Zelensky agreed to halt strikes on each other’s capitals for three days while the negotiators carry out their trip.
While Witkoff and Kushner were in talks at the Kremlin on Saturday, Zelensky said he and his team were “ready for a substantive conversation”.
Overnight, Russian and Ukrainian forces continued to exchange strikes, with Ukraine confirming they struck an oil refinery, an airfield, and two air defense systems.
The country’s defense ministry said they targeted the Ryazan oil refinery, which supplies the Russian army, and an airfield in Rostov-on-Don.
Earlier, Ukraine’s Air Force reported that Russia attacked Ukraine with 108 long-range drones and small cruise missiles.
The country’s air defenses downed 82 drones and six missiles, but 11 locations were hit, with debris falling at a further seven sites.
Saturday’s talks in Moscow lasted three hours and were held behind closed doors in Putin’s official residence in the heart of the Russian capital, according to Russian state media.
Details are still emerging, but both sides have given broadly positive remarks without going into specifics.
Putin adviser Yuri Ushakov described the talks as “constructive, extremely frank”.
“The talks were not limited to an exchange of views on resolving the Ukrainian crisis - economic issues and potential major, mutually beneficial Russian-American projects were discussed in considerable detail,” he said.
Ushakov also said “note was made of the Russian army’s tangible advances in the combat zone” and that there was acknowledgement that talks needed to address “the root causes of the conflict”.
Despite an escalation of Russian missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities including Kyiv, Russian ground forces have made very slow advances for most of the conflict, incurring enormous casualties. Russia still controls about one-fifth of Ukrainian territory - areas that it seized back in 2022.
The talks come after Russia and Ukraine have intensified aerial attacks in recent months.