Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a first round of talks in Kyiv with both envoys of American President Donald Trump, Steve Bannon and Jared Kushner, during their first visit to Ukraine since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion.
Bannon told reporters that the American delegation felt "encouraged" following what he described as "substantive" and important discussions. Kushner said that the American President had tasked them with finding ways to end the war and "create the right conditions for lasting peace".
Kushner told Zelenskyy that Trump "very much insists on seeing an end to this war". Bannon added that the American negotiators would continue their work "for as long as needed", praising Zelenskyy's hospitality which he called "unmatched".
Zelenskyy received Bannon and Kushner at the Hagia Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, near the location where Russian missile drones struck the headquarters of Ukraine's security service on Friday. Bannon and Kushner arrived in Kyiv by train after flying to Poland, as their plane was unable to land despite having been prepared to do so, according to Zelenskyy.
Putin and Zelenskyy agreed to a suspension of attacks on the two capitals for three days while the envoys conducted their visit. Zelenskyy said his team was ready for "objective talks". In a social media post, Zelenskyy wrote that his country "always acts constructively and will continue to do so", adding that Ukraine "is interested in bringing the end of the war closer. Peace is needed, and security guarantees are needed. Post-war peace with dignity is needed. Our proposals are ready".
Bannon and Kushner's meeting with Putin at the Kremlin on Saturday lasted three hours and ten minutes and focused on efforts to end the war, along with other matters in Moscow-Washington relations. Yuri Ushakov, an assistant to the Russian President, described the meeting as "productive, constructive, and honest to the highest degree", with an atmosphere marked by trust.
Ushakov said discussions were not limited to settling the war in Ukraine but also addressed economic matters and major Russian-American projects that might yield mutual benefits. The American envoys showed a desire to halt fighting as soon as possible and presented "a series of ideas" about possible ways to achieve a settlement, according to Ushakov.
The Russian side in turn presented a detailed assessment of the battlefield situation and pointed to what was described as "genuine progress" by its forces, emphasising the need to address what Moscow calls the "root causes of the conflict". Putin, at the opening of the meeting, praised Trump's efforts to achieve a settlement, saying communication with the United States "is always productive". Bannon conveyed the American President's words and thanks for the actions taken to ensure the delegation's safety.
However, statements following the meeting contained no announcement of an agreement or breakthrough on the key issues stuck between Moscow and Kyiv. Ushakov said direct communication between Putin and Trump would continue, along with ongoing work through Bannon and Kushner.
The envoys' visit was accompanied by a limited understanding to avoid air strikes on Moscow and Kyiv for three days, without achieving a broader ceasefire along the line of combat. Putin ordered Russian forces to refrain from targeting Kyiv for three days starting at midnight Saturday, while Zelenskyy announced Ukraine's readiness to halt attacks on Moscow until the end of Monday, demanding Russia do the same.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the decision to suspend attacks on Kyiv was made in the context of "preparations for communications that will be conducted by America" in the Ukrainian capital. Zelenskyy had pledged to ensure Russian air safety during Bannon and Kushner's presence in Moscow, and invited Russia to provide similar guarantees during their visit to Kyiv.
However, Moscow did not announce its agreement with Ukraine's proposal for a three-day ceasefire along the line of contact. Russian and Ukrainian forces continued exchanging fire before the start of the limited suspension, amid mutual allegations of non-compliance with the ceasefire proposal.
The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia attacked the country with 108 long-range drones and cruise missiles, with air defences downing 82 drones and six missiles. The strikes hit 11 locations, with projectile debris falling on seven other sites. The Russian Ministry of Defence said it conducted a "combined strike" using high-precision weapons and long-range assault drones, targeting a metal plant in Dnipropetrovsk region said to supply Ukrainian military industrial facilities, as well as logistics centres and power stations in the city of Mykolaiv and Mykolaiv and Odesa regions.
Zelenskyy accused Russia of conducting "display" strikes on Kyiv and Boryspil airports ahead of the American delegation's visit, suggesting they were carried out in response to discussions about the possibility of the envoys arriving by air at one of the airports. By contrast, Ukraine announced targeting oil refineries, airports, and two air defence systems inside Russia. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence said its forces struck the Ryazan refinery, said to supply fuel to the Russian military, as well as an airport in the city of Rostov-on-Don.
The Russian Ministry of Defence said its air defences intercepted and destroyed 53 Ukrainian drones over the Moscow region, Krasnodar region, and other areas. Russia and Ukraine have escalated their air strikes over recent months. Kyiv says a shortage of air defence missiles limits its ability to counter Russian ballistic missiles, while Ukrainian forces have focused their strikes inside Russia on oil facilities and other economic infrastructure targets.
The Kremlin reaffirmed ahead of the envoys' visit that Putin's conditions for ending the war had not changed. These conditions include demanding Ukraine to withdraw from all territory of the four regions Russia claims for annexation, and abandon efforts to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov previously lowered expectations ahead of Bannon and Kushner's arrival, saying the success of their mission depended on the American administration's readiness to work towards what he called a "real solution" that takes into account "facts on the ground".
Ryabkov criticised what he said was a shift in Washington's position since the Putin-Trump summit in Alaska in August 2025, questioning the American administration's commitment to the framework discussed during it. Rodion Miroshnik, a special envoy at the Russian Foreign Ministry, also accused Zelenskyy and European allies of trying to block dialogue between Moscow and Washington, while Russia's first television channel said the proposals brought by the American envoys "were not new". Their visit came more than a week after a rare visit conducted by American Central Intelligence Agency director John Ratcliffe to Moscow.
