US special representatives Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff have met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss possible ways to end Russia’s war on Ukraine, in their first trip to Kyiv since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

The discussions on Sunday followed a meeting the two envoys held with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow a day earlier.

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“It is extremely important that the delegation has come to meet us. We have been expecting Steve and Jared, Witkoff and Kushner, for a long time,” Zelenskyy said, expressing gratitude to US President Donald Trump for making the visit possible despite the ongoing conflict. “For us, the key thing is to do everything possible to bring this war to an end,” he said.

Witkoff described the exchange as productive after the meeting. “We have had a very serious and meaningful discussion, one that was substantial and important. We are encouraged, and we intend to continue for as long as necessary,” he said.

Kushner said Trump was focused not only on stopping the current fighting, but also on building “the proper conditions and framework for a lasting and durable peace”. He added that the US delegation had gained valuable insight during the visit.

Little concrete information emerged from the discussions, according to Al Jazeera’s Audrey MacAlpine, reporting from Kyiv.

“What stands out most is that we have not really been given much new information. It appears to be another delay rather than a clear step forward,” she said.

“President Zelenskyy repeated that the most sensitive matters, including territorial questions, would need to be addressed directly by leaders. That is something he has said many times before,” MacAlpine added.

“Still, the main development was the visit itself by the US envoys to Ukraine, along with the suggestion that they could return.”

Earlier, Zelenskyy shared footage showing his meeting with Trump’s representatives in central Kyiv, writing that “talks have begun”.

Senior Ukrainian security officials and members of the country’s negotiating team also attended.

National security advisers from the United Kingdom, France and Germany joined Zelenskyy, Kushner and Witkoff during a second round of discussions in the Ukrainian capital.

“We appreciate that our European partners are with us today… We are all on the same side here,” Zelenskyy said.

He said the war with Russia appeared likely, “at this moment”, to continue through the winter.

“We strongly hope that we can reach understandings with our American partners, and we are relying on European support if the war lasts into winter, which is how the situation currently looks,” he said.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine would continue consultations with the United States, France and Germany, without providing further details.

The US representatives reached Kyiv by train from Poland as they sought to restart efforts to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II, following a summer marked by increasing strain. Witkoff and Kushner had travelled to Moscow eight times previously but had not visited Kyiv for talks until this trip.

Zelenskyy accompanied the envoys to Saint Sophia’s Cathedral, one of Kyiv’s best-known historic landmarks. The cathedral stands near the Security Service of Ukraine building, which was struck by a Russian drone on Friday.

Russia’s invasion, now in its fourth and a half year, has killed hundreds of thousands of people and forced millions from their homes.

Earlier US-backed negotiations promoted by Trump, who had pledged during his campaign to quickly end the conflict, have produced limited progress. Trump said on Friday that Washington had a new proposal, but he offered no specifics.

‘Highly useful’ meeting

Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov called Saturday’s Moscow meeting, which lasted more than three hours, “highly useful”. A White House official said that further steps would be announced in the weeks ahead.

Ushakov said the exchange had been “extremely frank” and that the US delegation presented several ideas for possible settlement paths, without disclosing their content.

In remarks broadcast before the meeting, Putin said Russia would work to protect the envoys during their time in Kyiv. “We will do all that is within our power to ensure the safety of the negotiating process and intermediaries such as yourselves,” Putin told Witkoff and Kushner.

Earlier on Saturday, Putin had thanked Trump for continuing to seek an end to the war despite the difficulty of the task.

Trump again said on Friday that his envoys were carrying a “proposal” aimed at stopping the fighting. “We have an idea for peace,” he said, providing no additional explanation.

US diplomacy has not yet secured a major breakthrough, partly because of the US-Israeli war involving Iran.

Russia continues to control extensive parts of eastern and southern Ukraine, while Putin has maintained that Moscow intends to capture the remaining areas of the east.

In previous negotiations, Kyiv and Moscow have remained deeply divided over several central questions, including control of Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions. Russia has demanded that Ukraine pull back from a fortified group of towns it still holds there, while Kyiv has refused and believes it can continue resisting for years.

Ukraine considers firm security commitments from both its European partners and the United States essential to prevent another Russian invasion.

No strikes on capitals

Russia and Ukraine both agreed not to target one another’s capitals for three days during the US delegation’s visit. However, clashes and attacks continued in other areas despite the limited arrangement.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Sunday that its forces had hit a Ukrainian cargo ship in the Black Sea, alleging that it was transporting military equipment supplied to Ukraine by Western countries.

The ministry also said it had destroyed 400 drones over the previous 24 hours.

It said Russian strikes during the day had targeted Ukrainian infrastructure used by the armed forces, along with facilities for storing drones.

Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 108 drones and missiles overnight. It also reported striking the Ryazan oil refinery, roughly 480km (298 miles) inside Russian territory, causing a fire at the site.