First Kyiv Visit

US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff arrived in Kyiv Sunday for their first visit to the Ukrainian capital, a day after holding talks with Russia's Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on ending more than four years of war. An AFP reporter in Kyiv saw the American envoys arrive by train.

They are due to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said Ukraine was "ready for the conversation." "Ukraine has always been and will remain constructive," the wartime leader said on social media ahead of their visit.

Putin thanks Trump

The two sides discussed "substantive plans for next steps, which will be announced in the coming weeks," a White House official said. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov called the talks "extremely frank", saying the Americans "put forward a number of ideas on possible routes to a settlement". The Russian side told the Americans that Moscow was "confident" it could achieve its military goals of seizing the rest of eastern Ukraine.

Both Russia and Ukraine have vowed not to strike each other's capitals for three days to allow for the negotiations. For many Ukrainians, hopes of a breakthrough remain slim. "At this point it doesn't give me any hope. There have already been too many negotiations," Yaroslav, a 29-year-old Kyiv resident, told AFP.