US envoys make first Kiev visit amid Ukraine war peace push

A source familiar with the matter told Reuters the British, French and German national security advisers were also in Kyiv on Sunday. The source did not specify which meetings they would participate in.

Witkoff and Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, have visited Moscow several times in their roles as peace envoys. But Sunday will be their first visit to Kiev in their capacity as US negotiators.

In previous talks, the sides have remained far apart on a range of key issues, including the future of the eastern Donbass region. Russia has demanded Ukraine’s withdrawal from an entrenched belt of towns that it still controls there, but Kiev has refused, reasoning that it can still hold on there for years.

For Ukraine, hard security guarantees from its European allies and the US are crucial to deterring Russia from attacking again.

Though the front lines of the ground war remain largely static, both Russian and Ukrainian forces have intensified long-range air strikes in recent weeks.

Russia has pounded the Ukrainian capital day and night with missiles and drones for the past two weeks, including an attack on Friday on the headquarters of the SBU security service.

Ukraine, on the other hand, has inflicted damaging hits throughout the summer on Russian refineries, oil terminals and the warehouses of online retailer Wildberries.

The Kremlin has said it would pause strikes on Kiev until Monday, while Zelenskyy has said Ukraine would also halt strikes on Moscow.

Ukraine said on Sunday it had struck the Ryazan oil refinery, around 480 km (300 miles) inside Russia, overnight, causing a fire.