Zelensky says he expects war to continue into winter after talks with US envoys
0 / 28
Watch: US envoys Witkoff and Kushner say they are "encouraged" by Ukraine talks Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he expects the war with Russia to continue into the winter, following talks with Donald Trump's top envoys in Kyiv.
The initial discussions finished without an announcement of a major breakthrough, after Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner travelled to Ukraine for the first time since Russia's full-scale invasion.
The previous day, the pair had held talks with Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Witkoff said he was "encouraged" by what he called "substantive" and important talks in Kyiv.
Zelensky stressed that he wanted a just peace with no opportunity for renewed aggression by Russia.
The delegations continued talks after speaking to the media. The 'thorny' issues that threaten to derail a Russia-Ukraine peace deal Europe targeted by spiralling campaign of sabotage - and Russia is the chief suspect Following the first round of talks on Sunday, which lasted several hours behind closed doors, Zelensky told reporters they had agreed officials from Ukraine, Europe and America would meet in the near future to continue discussions.
"We're confident there'll be a good resolution here," Witkoff said, adding the negotiators had "made a lot of progress in Moscow", referring to the pair's discussions with the Russians on Saturday.
Zelensky emphasised that should the war continue into the winter - "which is what it looks like for now" - Ukraine would need air defence and energy support.
Ukraine has relied on American-made Patriot interceptors to combat Russian ballistic missiles, but the US has used many of its stockpiles during its war with Iran.
In past years, Russia has focused its attacks on energy infrastructure during winter months.
When asked about the talks in Moscow, Kushner said the US team "went through a lot of the ideas that hadn't worked to date" and "tried to think about" what elements are needed for "durable peace".
"It was a very good dialogue, he [Putin] asked a lot of questions, we asked a lot of questions."
Witkoff said the envoys had met Putin first as they "needed to hear where he stood".
Watch: President Zelensky welcomes US envoys in Kyiv The US envoys had travelled to Kyiv by train after flying to Poland – Zelensky told the media that it was not possible for them to land their plane despite preparations.
Putin and Zelensky agreed to halt strikes on each other's capitals for three days while the negotiators carried out their trip.
Zelensky greeted Witkoff and Jared Kushner at Kyiv's St Sophia Cathedral, near where a Russian drone hit the headquarters of Ukraine's security services on Friday.
Overnight, Russian and Ukrainian forces continued to exchange strikes, with Ukraine confirming they struck an oil refinery, an airfield, and two air defence systems.
Earlier, Ukraine's Air Force reported that Russia attacked Ukraine with 108 long-range drones and small cruise missiles.
The country's air defences downed 82 drones and six missiles, but 11 locations were hit, with debris falling at a further seven sites.
Witkoff and Kushner travelled into the capital by train where they were met by Ukrainian officials Saturday's talks in Moscow lasted three hours and were held behind closed doors in the Kremlin, according to Russian state media.
Putin's adviser Yuri Ushakov described the talks as "constructive, extremely frank".
He said they spoke about resolving the war, economic issues, and potential "mutually beneficial Russian-American projects".
Ushakov also said "note was made of the Russian army's tangible advances in the combat zone" and that there was acknowledgement that talks needed to address "the root causes of the conflict".
Despite an escalation of Russian missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities including Kyiv, Russian ground forces have made very slow advances for most of the conflict, incurring enormous casualties.
Russia still controls about one-fifth of Ukrainian territory - areas that it seized back in 2022.
The talks come after Russia and Ukraine have intensified aerial attacks in recent months.
Russia hits Ukrainian security headquarters in drone attack, Zelensky says Majority Russian-speaking city in Ukraine considers language ban in the arts Rosenberg: Putin's veiled threat to UK part of Russia's campaign against West
仅供学习使用，如有侵权请联系删除 · 查看原文