Trump's envoys Jared Kushner and Witkoff meet Putin in Moscow as push for Ukraine deal continues

US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner sat down with Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin for more than two hours on Thursday.

The meeting came a day after talks in Abu Dhabi. Those talks, the first direct negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in nine months, produced a prisoner exchange deal but left the dispute over territory unresolved.  

Kushner's main goal was to widen the table. He said he wanted Europeans added to the format so the talks could become multilateral. Moscow has resisted that so far. Putin said Russia has never opposed dialogue with Europe, but insisted there is only one demarcation line with Ukraine, a state border.  

No breakthrough was announced. Putin's adviser Yuri Ushakov said the Russian leader will continue the conversation with Trump at the APEC summit in China later this month.

The envoys are now heading to Dublin to brief Zelensky, who has spoken of a "window of opportunity" for a deal. Kyiv also warned that restrictions had reappeared on the Starshield system used by frontline troops. Meanwhile, the EU is preparing a new sanctions package against Russia to strengthen Ukraine's hand.