After a meeting between senior U.S. officials and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russian officials said “no compromise or agreement could be reached” on the key issue of control of Ukrainian territory to end the war in Moscow.
President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner met with President Vladimir Putin in the Russian capital on Tuesday, as the United States seeks to broker an end to Europe’s deadliest war since World War II.
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The discussion lasted nearly five hours and ended just after midnight. “So far no compromise has been found, but it is possible to discuss some possible US solutions,” said Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, who attended the meeting.
Ushakov said the talks were “very useful and constructive,” but stressed that “a lot of work lies ahead both in Washington and Moscow.”
A US delegation was in the Russian capital to discuss the peace plan, which Washington updated after a previously leaked 28-point draft was heavily criticized by Ukraine and its allies for favoring Russia.
The Kremlin has condemned Kiev and Europe’s subsequent counter-offer, with Putin repeatedly calling it “unacceptable” for his country.
Ahead of his meeting with U.S. officials, the Russian leader made bellicose remarks at an investment forum, insisting his country was ready to take on Europe.
Referring to Ukraine’s European allies, Putin claimed that “they are on the side of the war.” “We can clearly see that all these changes are aimed at one thing only: to completely block the entire peace process and make demands that are absolutely unacceptable to Russia.”
He also said that following the attack on a Russian oil transport ship off the coast of Turkiye, Russia would step up attacks on Ukrainian ports and ships, as well as tankers supporting Kiev.
In response to Putin’s comments, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sibikha said it was clear that Putin did not want the war to end.
“Yesterday he said he was ready to get through the winter. Today he is threatening ports and freedom of navigation,” Sibiha wrote on social media.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who is visiting Ireland, said there was a need for “peace with dignity.”
Asked at an event in Dublin whether the United States might lose interest in the peace process, he said he was concerned that Kiev’s allies were “exhausted.”
“Russia’s goal is to derive U.S. benefits from this situation,” he explained.
Meanwhile, President Trump acknowledged that negotiations were difficult.
“Our nationals are currently in Russia and we are looking to see if we can resolve the issue,” President Trump said at a Cabinet meeting in Washington, D.C. “It’s not an easy situation. What a mess,” he added, noting that the war causes tens of thousands of casualties every month.
A senior Kiev official told AFP news agency that Witkov and Kushner could meet with the Ukrainian delegation in Brussels as early as Wednesday.
The diplomatic disruption came after Russia claimed to have captured Pokrovsk, a city of “special significance” in Ukraine’s Donbas region.
Kiev denied the development, saying Moscow wanted to give the impression that Russia’s advance was inevitable.
“From this base, from this direction, Russian troops can easily advance in any direction that the General Staff deems most promising,” Putin suggested on Tuesday.
Russian forces control more than 19% of Ukraine, an increase of 1 percentage point from last year. Russian troops advanced faster in 2025 than at any time since 2022, according to a pro-Ukrainian map cited by Reuters.
In an earlier leaked US peace proposal, Russia’s demands included a cap on the size of the Ukrainian military, control across Donbass, and recognition of Moscow’s presence in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions.
Kiev has said such concessions amount to “surrender” and Zelensky said protecting Ukraine’s territorial integrity remains the “biggest challenge” in the ongoing negotiations.
