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United States envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Kyiv<\/a> on Sunday for the second leg of a two-stop tour that also included a trip to the Kremlin as the US attempts to revive stalled peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. This latest round of shuttle diplomacy was symbolically significant as it was the first time the American duo had visited both Moscow and the Ukrainian capital. However, despite upbeat assessments<\/a> from all participants, there was no sign that the US delegation\u2019s meetings with Russian and Ukrainian leaders resulted in any meaningful progress toward peace.<\/p>\n Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly invited Trump\u2019s peace envoys to Kyiv and is already calling for a second visit as he seeks to build momentum. \u201cWe agreed with Steve and Jared that they will come again. It\u2019s important not to have long pauses. They have been to Moscow many times, and this was the first time in Kyiv,\u201d he noted<\/a>. The Ukrainian leader commented<\/a> that some of the proposals presented by Witkoff and Kushner were \u201cactually very good, very worthy,\u201d and indicated that details will be announced following further discussion. These proposals are thought to include deescalation measures<\/a> to limit attacks on energy infrastructure and grain shipments.<\/p>\n At the same time, Zelenskyy appears to be under no illusions regarding the current prospects for peace. Following talks with the US envoys, he acknowledged<\/a> that the war is likely to continue into 2027. With this in mind, Zelenskyy stressed the importance of enhanced support from the country\u2019s allies during the coming winter months. The Ukrainian President\u2019s winter wish list<\/a> includes interceptor missiles for Ukraine\u2019s Patriot air defense systems and increased energy supplies, with Kyiv hoping to secure additional LNG deliveries from the United States. <\/p>\n \n\t\tStay updated\n\t<\/p>\n As the world watches the Russian invasion of Ukraine unfold, UkraineAlert delivers the best Atlantic Council expert insight and analysis on Ukraine twice a week directly to your inbox.<\/p>\n Zelenskyy\u2019s pragmatic approach is easy to understand. While no detailed account of the talks in Moscow has been released, Russian President Vladimir Putin seems to have left Witkoff and Kushner in no doubt over his continued commitment to victory in Ukraine. Speaking after the meeting, Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said<\/a> Putin had told the US envoys that Russia was making \u201creal progress\u201d on the battlefield and was confident of achieving its military objectives, while stressing the necessity of addressing \u201call the root causes of the conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n This emphasis on the \u201croot causes of the conflict\u201d is a reminder that Russia\u2019s objectives in Ukraine extend far beyond the limited territorial demands at the heart of the current negotiations. Moscow has never provided a definitive version of these \u201croot causes,\u201d but Putin and other Kremlin officials have consistently indicated that they seek to reassert Russian dominance over Ukraine and aim to erase the entire notion of a separate Ukrainian national identity.<\/p>\n When Putin first announced the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he identified the \u201cdemilitarization\u201d and \u201cdenazification\u201d of the country as his two main war aims. So far, Russia\u2019s bid to demilitarize Ukraine has backfired disastrously, with the country emerging since 2022 as the strongest fighting force in Europe and a world leader in drone warfare. Nevertheless, the Kremlin has continued to signal that any peace deal must include extensive restrictions on the size and capabilities of the Ukrainian military. It is not difficult to imagine what Putin has in mind for Ukraine if he succeeds in disarming the country in this manner.<\/p>\n \n\t\tEurasia Center events\n\t<\/p>\n Putin\u2019s vow to \u201cdenazify\u201d Ukraine is even more central to Russia\u2019s war aims than his threat to \u201cdemilitarize\u201d the country. While the Kremlin dictator is notorious for branding all opponents as \u201cNazis,\u201d his longstanding vilification of Ukraine has taken this toxic trend to new extremes, with the entire Ukrainian state demonized<\/a> as a Nazi regime. As a result, the \u201cdenazification\u201d of Ukraine has come to be understood as the complete eradication of Ukrainian sovereignty and national identity. The Kremlin media has made this clear, with frequent genocidal language<\/a> directed at Ukrainians and high-profile content<\/a> confirming that the process of \u201cdenazification\u201d will inevitably mean \u201cde-Ukrainization.\u201d<\/p>\n In summer 2025, Russia\u2019s vision for addressing the \u201croot causes\u201d of the war was spelled out in a memorandum<\/a> produced by the Kremlin ahead of peace talks in Istanbul. Alongside sweeping territorial concessions, military restrictions, and a ban on international alliances, this document also called on the Ukrainian authorities to grant the Russian language the status of official state language, reinstate the privileges of the Russian Orthodox Church, and adopt a Kremlin-friendly version of Ukrainian history.<\/p>\n Crucially, all so-called \u201cnationalist\u201d Ukrainian political parties would be banned, paving the way for the installation of a pro-Russian puppet regime. If implemented, these measures would reverse decades of nation-building progress and signal the end of Ukrainian statehood, even if the Kremlin chose to maintain the charade of sovereignty.<\/p>\n Putin\u2019s uncompromising stance during Saturday\u2019s Kremlin talks sent a clear message that he has no intention of ending his invasion and remains committed to maximalist goals that are incompatible with Ukraine\u2019s survival. This does not mean that further negotiations are futile, but it should serve as a wake-up call for anyone who is still in any doubt over the extent of Putin\u2019s imperial ambitions or his refusal to accept the post-1991 emergence of an independent Ukraine.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s envoys continue to discuss win-win scenarios<\/a>, whereas Putin is playing a zero sum game. His invasion of Ukraine is not a land grab or a geopolitical real estate deal. It is an attempt to reverse the Soviet collapse and revive the Russian Empire. Peace will only be possible when diplomatic efforts reflect this reality.<\/p>\n Peter Dickinson is editor of the Atlantic Council\u2019s UkraineAlert service.<\/p>\n Further reading<\/p>\n The views expressed in UkraineAlert are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Atlantic Council, its staff, or its supporters. <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1788919514_313_optimized-Eurasia-Center-Unsplash-Polina-Rytova-1dGMs4hhcVA.jpg\"\/)
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