The discussions included high-level military and intelligence officials from Ukraine, Russia, and the U.S. Ukraine’s team featured Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov; Russia had members of its armed forces and military intelligence; and the U.S. was represented by President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, and senior White House advisers.
Zelenskyy mentioned that the U.S. proposed potential formats for formalizing any future settlement and emphasized the need for American monitoring and oversight of a potential ceasefire or peace process.
“All parties agreed to report back to their capitals on the negotiations and to coordinate further actions with their leaders,” Zelenskyy stated, noting that military officials identified issues for a possible follow-up meeting.
Russia’s TASS news agency reported that the talks yielded results and could continue in the coming days.
The diplomatic efforts took place amid Moscow’s largest aerial assault on Ukraine this year, with hundreds of drones and missiles striking Kyiv, Kharkiv, and other cities overnight, resulting in at least one death and causing millions to lose power and heat in freezing temperatures.
On Friday, Zelenskyy commented that it was “too early” to draw conclusions from the talks and reiterated that Ukraine would not agree to territorial concessions demanded by Moscow.
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