Witkoff, Kushner meet Putin in Moscow and say 'progress was made' as Ukraine talks restart
Photo: Getty Images (file photo)U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Thursday, saying the talks made progress toward restarting negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine and that a new round of trilateral talks has been set.
The meeting lasted about two and a half hours, according to Russian state media. Speaking to CNN at Moscow's Vnukovo Airport just before the envoys left the country, Witkoff said: "I think progress was made. I think it was made earlier today. People didn't think that we were going to restart trilateral. We've restarted it. We've set a new meeting."
"I think overall, (we've had) very fulsome and detailed discussions on all the topics, which I think will inform hopefully the next multilateral discussions," Kushner added.
One of the goals of the Moscow meeting was to get Putin's blessing for European representatives to join the talks, which are looking at the continent's broader security arrangements, Kushner said. Witkoff said European nations should be part of the next round: "They're our partners, and it's important for them to be involved."
Putin's foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, confirmed that trilateral talks involving Russia, Ukraine and the United States would continue, but he played down the idea of European participation. "They are making every effort to get involved in the negotiations, but, as our president has said, they need to decide whether they want peace or a continuation of the war. So far, all their practical actions point precisely to the latter," Ushakov said.
Putin told the envoys that Russia had "never objected (to) pursuing dialogue" with Europe. "You want this peace to be a durable and lasting one, and I confirm that I subscribe to that, and I'd say more. I want this peace to be eternal, for good," the Russian leader said.
But Putin also reaffirmed to the envoys that any European troops deployed to Ukraine after a ceasefire are "absolutely unacceptable" and that Russia would regard them as a security threat and legitimate targets. "In other words, the war would resume immediately," he said. He also said Russia regards its border with Ukraine as now extending to cover the four Ukrainian regions that Moscow annexed in 2022 but never fully controlled.
From Moscow, Witkoff and Kushner were due to fly to Dublin, Ireland, to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and brief him on the talks. Zelenskyy was in Dublin on Thursday for a summit of more than 40 European countries, where the Abu Dhabi talks and additional sanctions on Russia were discussed.
The Moscow trip followed two days of U.S.-mediated talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Abu Dhabi — the first direct discussions between the two sides in nine months. Those talks ended Wednesday with no breakthrough on ending the war, but with an agreement to arrange a large-scale exchange of prisoners of war, with the exact numbers still to be finalized.
Despite the diplomacy, the fighting has not paused. Moscow launched a ballistic missile and drone attack on Ukraine overnight into Thursday, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. In Kyiv, at least one person was killed and several others injured in a Russian drone attack Thursday morning, local authorities said. Russia launched missiles and 123 drones, 73 of them jet-powered, at Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian air force said, with hits recorded at 17 locations.
Zelenskyy also said Thursday that Ukraine's military is again facing "significant disruptions" to Starshield, the military-grade version of Elon Musk's Starlink service that Kyiv relies on to shoot down Russian drones. SpaceX, which owns Starshield, told CNN there had been no change in its service.
Sources: CNN, "Witkoff and Kushner to meet Zelensky after talks with Putin, as Ukraine says Starshield restricted again" (Nov. 12, 2026, full text verified); Associated Press, "US Envoys Meet With Putin in the Kremlin After Ukraine Talks in Abu Dhabi" (Nov. 12, 2026, full text verified via Military.com republication). Event date verified: November 12, 2026 (Kremlin meeting).
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