Ukraine Peace Talks: Putin Meets US Envoys in Moscow

Ukraine peace talks entered their most sensitive phase yet on Thursday, when United States envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner sat down with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin.

The two envoys arrived in Moscow on Thursday morning through falling snow. Putin's special envoy Kirill Dmitriev met them at the airport and accompanied them into the city centre.

The Kremlin meeting began a few hours later. It was the tenth time Witkoff has met Putin in person since the diplomatic push began.

Al Jazeera's correspondent in Kyiv reported that many Ukrainians doubt the Moscow talks will change anything on the ground. Previous rounds, she noted, produced prisoner exchanges but no shift in either side's core position.

Ukraine peace talks: what Putin told the envoys

Putin's public message during the Ukraine peace talks was uncompromising. He rejected any proposal for an ongoing European troop presence in Ukraine after a deal.

Russia sees such troops as a security threat, he said. He warned that they would be legitimate targets.

Putin also said he views the current border with Ukraine as the line of control. Al Jazeera noted that this refers to Moscow's claim over four Ukrainian regions it annexed in 2022 but never fully captured.

In a separate proposal reported by the Kyiv Independent, Putin suggested a temporary humanitarian mission in the contested town of Kostiantynivka. He claimed Russian forces control the town and offered to halt fighting so civilians could leave.

He said between 400 and 500 people remain in the town. He also called for demining, and for Ukraine to take similar steps if its forces control the area.

According to reports of the meeting, Kushner told Putin that Europe wants a role in future negotiations. Witkoff pointed to the prisoner exchange agreed this week as a sign of progress.

For Kyiv, the hardest part of the Ukraine peace talks remains territory. Ukraine has strongly rejected Putin's demand that it surrender the whole of its eastern Donbas region in return for peace.

What Abu Dhabi gave the Ukraine peace talks

The Moscow meeting followed two days of trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi, which ended on Wednesday. Those talks were the first direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine mediated by the United States in nine months.

The two sides agreed another major exchange of prisoners of war, expected in the coming weeks. But they announced no breakthrough on ending the nearly five year war.

American mediators said differences remained on major issues, including territory. They said some progress had been made on post war security guarantees.

With the land question deadlocked, the mediators have been steering the Ukraine peace talks towards those guarantees and towards post war reconstruction instead.

The prisoner exchange, when it happens, will be the most tangible result of this round of diplomacy. Families on both sides are waiting for the lists to be confirmed, and both governments have presented the swaps as proof that talking still achieves something.

Europe watches the Ukraine peace talks from Dublin

While the envoys were in Moscow, leaders from more than 40 European countries gathered in Dublin for a European Political Community summit on the continent's security.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attended, along with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. Rutte said the United States, Europe and Ukraine are very much aligned on what security guarantees should look like.

But, Rutte added, they still need the peace deal, or at least a ceasefire.

Zelenskyy called the proposed prisoner exchange a positive step. He repeated that Ukraine will not surrender Russian occupied territory in return for peace.

He also said political changes abroad, including the recent United States midterm results, could open a window of opportunity for a settlement.

Kushner and Witkoff are scheduled to brief Zelenskyy in Dublin on Friday. France, meanwhile, said the European Union will approve new sanctions on Russia on Monday, covering 150 more entities and 50 banks.

The war behind the Ukraine peace talks

The fighting explains why the Ukraine peace talks carry such urgency. Even as the envoys travelled, Russia and Ukraine exchanged attacks on each other's capitals early on Thursday.

Russia launched ballistic missiles and 123 combat drones at Ukraine overnight, Ukrainian officials said. Air defences shot down 89 of the drones.

A woman was killed and five people were injured when a drone struck a residential block in Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Strikes on energy facilities caused power cuts across nine regions.

Ukraine's military said it had struck several of Russia's largest oil refineries in recent weeks. Separately, Russia said one of its servicemen was killed in a car explosion near Saint Petersburg on Thursday.

Ukraine peace talks: common questions

Have the Ukraine peace talks produced a ceasefire?

No. The Abu Dhabi round agreed a major prisoner exchange but no ceasefire. The Moscow meeting with Putin also ended without a public breakthrough.

What is the next step in the Ukraine peace talks?

The American envoys fly to Dublin to brief President Zelenskyy on Friday. The agreed prisoner exchange is expected to take place in the coming weeks.

What does Putin demand in the Ukraine peace talks?

Putin wants Ukraine to surrender the whole Donbas region and rejects any European troop presence in Ukraine after a deal. Kyiv has refused to give up territory.

Who are the American envoys?

Steve Witkoff is President Trump's special envoy, and Jared Kushner is Trump's son in law. Thursday's Kremlin meeting was Witkoff's tenth in person session with Putin.

Will Europe join the talks?

Kushner told Putin that Europe wants a role in future negotiations. European leaders met in Dublin on Thursday and said they are aligned with Washington and Kyiv on security guarantees.

For now, the Ukraine peace talks continue on two tracks: prisoners coming home, and a core dispute over land that neither side is ready to concede. Friday's briefing in Dublin will show whether Moscow moved at all.