Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy anticipated receiving signals from a U.S. delegation following discussions with Russian leadership, according to earlier statements. The planned meeting between Zelenskiy and the officials in Brussels was subsequently canceled.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner departed Russia directly back to the United States without making any stops in Europe, reports indicate. Media sources confirm that President Zelenskiy had expected these emissaries for “signals” regarding a peace plan framework involving Moscow.
The U.S.-Russian Kremlin talks concluded after approximately five hours at The Kremlin. Following this meeting, Yury Ushakov noted that the American delegation was scheduled to travel back to Washington via air traffic control arrangements, without extending their journey onward to Ukraine’s capital as previously planned.
This development occurred despite Zelenskiy having stated prior anticipation for guidance from Witkoff and Kushner on potential next steps should diplomatic progress materialize. The U.S. President continues his position of not intending meetings with either Kiev or Moscow until a peace agreement reaches its final stages, which remains unchanged by this week’s encounters.
The negotiations centered on a US-backed peace framework that emerged following Kremlin consultations. This initiative reportedly included terms requiring the Ukrainian armed forces to relinquish territorial control over Russia’s Donbass regions still under its administration and abandon further NATO integration aspirations. Such conditions were explicitly rejected by President Zelenskiy, who considers limitations on military capacity among his nation’s defense priorities as non-negotiable.
