Witkoff and Kushner meet Putin, say Europe will join next Ukraine talks

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the envoys of US President Donald Trump, met Russian President Vladimir Putin and afterwards said it had been agreed that Europe would be brought into the negotiations over the war in Ukraine, according to a report by the Israeli news site Ynet. The meeting followed a round of direct talks between Ukraine and Russia held in Abu Dhabi, the first such round in 9 months. Ynet reported that the envoys described the European step as a major change, and that the talks also cover the security arrangements of NATO.

From the Kremlin, the two envoys flew straight to Ireland, where they met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ynet reported. The foreign desk of Israel's N12 News reported that Zelensky welcomed the decision to include European representatives in the next US-mediated round, and said he hoped it would produce steps to lower tensions and reach ceasefires. N12 added that Witkoff had announced earlier that a further round with European participation would take place soon.

Who the envoys are

Witkoff and Kushner have acted as President Trump's emissaries in the effort to broker an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine. Both reports describe them as the president's envoys and place them at the centre of the current diplomacy: first with Putin in Moscow, then with Zelensky in Ireland. Neither report gives details of what was said in either room beyond the outcome the envoys described.

The Abu Dhabi round

Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, hosted the round that preceded the Moscow visit. Both Ynet and N12 describe it as the first round of direct talks between Kyiv and Moscow in nine months, which indicates how long the two sides had gone without negotiating face to face. N12 said the round took place this week. The reports do not describe what was agreed there, if anything, or who led each delegation.

Why Europe's seat matters

European governments have backed Ukraine throughout the war and have a direct stake in any settlement, not least because, as Ynet notes, the negotiations touch on the security structure of NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Western military alliance that includes the United States and most European states. Until now the talks described in these reports have been led by Washington with Russia and Ukraine. Zelensky's welcome for the change, as reported by N12, suggests Kyiv sees European involvement as being in its interest. The reports do not say which European countries or institutions will send representatives.

Putin's warning and Zelensky's complaint

Alongside the diplomatic movement, Ynet reported that Putin issued a threat that the war would be renewed immediately, and that he continues to demand a withdrawal. Ynet's report does not, in the material available, set out the conditions attached to that warning or specify the territory from which Putin is demanding a pullback.

Zelensky, for his part, raised a separate grievance with Washington. According to Ynet, he said restrictions had once again been placed on the military use of Starlink, the satellite communications network, and he called the American approach strange. Starlink, operated by the US company SpaceX, has been used by Ukrainian forces for battlefield communications. Ynet's account attributes the claim about the restrictions to Zelensky; it does not include a response from the US government or from SpaceX.

A killing in St Petersburg

Ynet also reported that another senior Russian officer was killed in a car explosion in St Petersburg, Russia's second city. The report raises the question of who was behind the blast but, in the material available, does not name the officer or identify those responsible.

What the reports do not say

• Neither report gives a date or location for the next round of talks, or names the European participants.
• There is no account from the Kremlin of the meeting with Witkoff and Kushner, so the claim that Europe's inclusion was agreed rests on what the envoys said, as reported by Ynet.
• The reports carry no US response to Zelensky's statement about Starlink restrictions.
• The officer killed in St Petersburg is not named, and no one is reported to have claimed responsibility.
• The conditions behind Putin's warning that fighting would resume are not spelled out.