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U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoys met with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday as Washington sought new momentum in peace efforts. The meeting followed two days of U.S.-mediated negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Abu Dhabi.
Peace Talks and Prisoner Exchange
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who is also Trump’s son-in-law, brokered the discussions in the capital of the United Arab Emirates. These meetings marked the first direct talks between representatives of Moscow and Kyiv in nine months as the push for peace had stalled.
The two-day negotiations, which concluded Wednesday, did not yield a major breakthrough aside from an agreement to conduct a large-scale prisoner exchange, with the exact number of detainees yet to be announced.
Following the Abu Dhabi talks, Kushner and Witkoff traveled directly to the Kremlin to brief Putin in a meeting lasting approximately two hours. They are scheduled to fly next to Dublin, Ireland, for discussions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as the conflict approaches its five-year mark.
Discussions on European Involvement
Kushner stated that one objective of the meeting with Putin was to secure the Russian leader’s approval for European representatives to participate in peace talks addressing broader continental security arrangements. Both the United States and Zelenskyy want Europe to appoint a single negotiator to deal with Moscow.
However, Moscow opposes European involvement in direct negotiations, citing European financial and military support for Ukraine. Meanwhile, European nations remain concerned regarding Russia’s intentions on the continent.
Kushner noted in Moscow that the Russian and Ukrainian delegations agreed on numerous principles during the Abu Dhabi talks while remaining apart on certain methods to achieve peace. Putin reaffirmed to the U.S. envoys that any deployment of European troops to Ukraine after a ceasefire would be completely unacceptable and treated as a security threat and legitimate target, warning that the war would resume immediately.
Putin also stated that Russia views its border with Ukraine under a prospective peace deal as extending to cover the four Ukrainian regions annexed by Moscow in 2022 that it has never fully controlled.
Zelenskyy Views Political Opportunity
Zelenskyy is currently in Dublin attending a meeting of over 40 European countries alongside NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. Rutte stated that the U.S., Europe, and Ukraine remain very much aligned on security guarantees following a January meeting in Paris, emphasizing the current need for a peace deal or ceasefire.
Zelenskyy indicated that political changes, including Democrats taking control of the U.S. Congress following midterm elections and upcoming French elections, could create a political window of opportunity for a peace deal. He described the proposed prisoner exchange as a positive step while maintaining that Ukraine will not surrender Russian-occupied territory for peace.
Amid ongoing diplomatic efforts, fighting persists along the 1,200-kilometer front line. Russia’s military has faced resistance while carrying out drone and missile strikes against Ukrainian energy facilities, impacting heat, electricity, and water supplies.
Military Strikes and Starlink Concerns
Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that its air defenses downed 71 Ukrainian drones overnight, and its forces struck a drone-manufacturing plant in Kyiv along with three other facilities producing missile fuel and drone components nearby. The Ukrainian air force reported that Russia launched 123 drones and missiles overnight, with hits recorded at 17 locations.
Zelenskyy reported on social media that Ukraine is experiencing another slowdown in the U.S. Starshield system, SpaceX’s military-grade version of the Starlink satellite internet service. Military units noted significant disruptions, including speed restrictions limiting Ukrainian drones to 161 kph, which an investigation confirmed were not random errors.
Elon Musk previously acknowledged that SpaceX throttled Starlink in Ukraine for about a week to prevent its use for offensive strikes against Russia. Zelenskyy stated in Dublin that the speed limits affect operations in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine and that Kyiv is seeking clarification from U.S. officials.
In St. Petersburg, a Russian serviceman was killed early Thursday when his vehicle exploded, according to Russia’s Investigative Committee, which did not identify the victim or the perpetrator. The Fontanka news outlet reported that the victim was a colonel whose car bomb detonated as he drove away.
