US Envoys Meet Putin and Zelenskyy, Europe to Join Next Ukraine Peace Talks/ NEWSLOOKS/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Vladimir Putin in Moscow and Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Dublin on Thursday to advance stalled peace efforts. Witkoff and Zelenskyy said European representatives would participate in the next negotiating round, although details remained unclear.
Russia reiterated its opposition to European troops in Ukraine as fighting continued and Kyiv reported renewed satellite-service restrictions.
Quick Look
- Shuttle diplomacy: US envoys met Putin for about two hours before holding talks with Zelenskyy for more than an hour.
- European participation: Witkoff and Zelenskyy said Europe would join the next round.
- Details pending: Officials did not identify participating countries, a representative or the meeting’s date.
- Prisoner agreement: This week’s Abu Dhabi talks produced a planned exchange, with numbers still unannounced.
- Russian demands: Putin again rejected European troops in Ukraine and raised broader NATO deployment restrictions.
- Continued attacks: Both countries reported overnight drone operations.
- Satellite concerns: Zelenskyy said restrictions were disrupting Ukrainian military drone operations.
- Unresolved settlement: No comprehensive peace agreement or ceasefire was announced.
Deep Look
US Envoys Meet Both Leaders in Renewed Peace Effort
DUBLIN — US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held separate meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday, emerging with plans for another negotiating round that they said would include Europe.
The envoys spent about two hours with Putin at the Kremlin before flying to Dublin for more than an hour of discussions with Zelenskyy.
Their visits followed two days of US-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi, the first direct negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian representatives in nine months.
Those discussions produced an agreement for a large prisoner exchange but no major breakthrough toward ending the war. The number of prisoners involved remained unannounced.
Europe Expected to Move From Sidelines to Negotiating Table
Witkoff said before departing Moscow that another round of talks had been agreed upon.
“The Europeans will join at the next meeting,” he said in remarks shown on Russian state television.
Zelenskyy said European participation would extend beyond the consultations held alongside the Abu Dhabi negotiations.
“Next meeting, Europe will be during negotiations, will be a negotiation team – not some way, not separately. They will have a voice,” he said in Dublin.
Neither provided details about which countries would participate or how many representatives would attend.
The United States and Ukraine want Europe to appoint a single person to negotiate with Moscow.
Russia Maintains Objections to European Involvement
Russia has opposed European participation in direct negotiations, arguing that European governments finance and supply Ukraine’s military.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Europe would first need to designate a representative.
“The Europeans squabble like spiders in a jar. If someone takes the initiative to establish contact with the Russian side, such people are facing ostracism,” he said.
European governments remain concerned about Russia’s conduct and wider ambitions. Some also view negotiations over broader European security as a potential concession to Putin.
Washington’s approach has added to those concerns. Trump last month waived sanctions and agreed to import Russian diesel, moves that dismayed Ukraine and European leaders.
Kremlin Describes Talks as Constructive
Putin aide Yuri Ushakov called Thursday’s Kremlin meeting “substantive, constructive, frank and useful.”
He said Putin revisited proposals Moscow advanced in 2021, before the full-scale invasion, demanding that NATO reduce military deployments in Central and Eastern Europe.
Russia intends to update those proposals with “fresh considerations,” Ushakov said.
Some analysts believe negotiations could explore concessions involving NATO’s strategy in exchange for peace in Ukraine. That possibility has alarmed European leaders.
Putin Warns Against European Troops in Ukraine
Putin reiterated that deploying European troops to Ukraine after a ceasefire would be “absolutely unacceptable.”
European governments have discussed such a deployment as a possible safeguard against another Russian attack.
Putin said Russia would regard those forces as a security threat and legitimate targets.
“In other words, the war would resume immediately,” he said.
He also reaffirmed Moscow’s demand that a prospective agreement recognize its claim to four Ukrainian regions annexed in 2022, despite Russia never having fully controlled them.
Those positions remain major obstacles to a settlement.
Rutte Says Security Guarantees Need a Ceasefire or Peace Deal
Zelenskyy was in Dublin for a gathering involving more than 40 European countries, also attended by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
Rutte said the United States, Europe and Ukraine were “very much aligned” on the shape of security guarantees following a January meeting in Paris.
“But now of course we need the peace deal, or at least a ceasefire,” he said.
The discussions took place as the conflict approached its fifth anniversary, without an announced halt to fighting.
Attacks Continue Against Ukrainian Infrastructure
Combat continued along the approximately 1,200-kilometer, or 750-mile, front line.
Russian missile and drone attacks have disrupted heat, electricity and water supplies as winter approaches, a strategy Kyiv describes as a “weaponization of winter.”
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched missiles and 123 drones overnight, including 73 jet-powered drones. It reported hits at 17 locations.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses intercepted 71 Ukrainian drones. It also claimed strikes on a drone-manufacturing facility in Kyiv and three nearby sites producing missile fuel and drone components.
Ukraine Reports Renewed Starshield Disruptions
Zelenskyy said Thursday that Ukrainian forces were experiencing another slowdown affecting StarshieldSpaceX’s military-grade version of Starlink satellite internet.
Military units recorded “significant disruptions,” including restrictions limiting drones to 161 kilometers per hour, or 100 mph, he said.
He added that a Ukrainian military investigation found the restrictions were not random errors.
Ukraine uses the systems to intercept Russian drones and conduct its own strikes. Zelenskyy said the latest limits also affected operations over Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory, and Kyiv was seeking explanations from US officials.
Last month, Elon Musk acknowledged that SpaceX had throttled Starlink service in Ukraine for about a week, saying it could not be used for offensive strikes against Russia.
The supplied report did not include an explanation from SpaceX or US officials for the latest disruptions.
Russian Serviceman Dies in Vehicle Explosion
Separately, Russia’s Investigative Committee said a serviceman was killed Thursday morning when his vehicle exploded in St. Petersburg.
The agency did not identify him or attribute responsibility.
The Fontanka news outlet reported that the victim was a colonel and that a bomb exploded as he drove away.
Moscow has blamed Ukraine for several attacks on Russian military officers. Kyiv has claimed responsibility for some operations on Russian territory, but responsibility for Thursday’s explosion remained unestablished.
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