“Ukraine is forced to play along”: how analysts are assessing the talks between Witkoff and Kushner in Kyiv and Moscow

The last time American mediators directly brought the Ukrainian and Russian sides together in a trilateral format was about six months ago. The talks took place in Abu Dhabi and Geneva.

At that time, Russia was pressuring Ukraine to make concessions—to withdraw from the entire Donbas region and hand over control of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. It was Russia that had been doing everything in its power to halt the negotiation process all along; at the same time, the U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran also pushed the Ukrainian issue into the background.

Progress began when CIA Director John Ratcliffe first flew to Moscow, and 11 days later, on September 5, U.S. President’s special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived, visiting Kyiv the following day, September 6.

Political analysts say that quick decisions and progress in the negotiation process are not to be expected. However, Kyiv’s negotiating position is now significantly stronger than it was six months ago, while the Kremlin’s desire for peace talks is nothing more than a pretense.

How did the talks in Kyiv go?

For Kushner and Witkoff, yesterday’s visit to Kyiv was their first since the start of the full-scale war. Meanwhile, American negotiators have traveled to Moscow multiple times during this period.

Witkoff reported “significant progress” in Moscow and described the talks with the Ukrainian side as “encouraging.” Washington now hoped to bring Russia and Ukraine back to direct talks under U.S. mediation in the near future.

Zelenskyy noted that the following officials had also joined the talks in Kyiv: Emmanuel Bonne, diplomatic advisor to the President of France; Jonathan Powell, national security adviser to the British prime minister, and Günter Sauter, foreign and security policy adviser to the German chancellor. A separate round of talks was held with them.

According to the president, over the course of three rounds of talks, the parties managed to discuss virtually the entire package of potential agreements: territories, security guarantees, the future of the Ukrainian army, economic guarantees, and the country’s reconstruction. A separate focus was on the country’s needs for the winter, as the war will continue, and Ukraine already requires additional air defense systems, energy infrastructure protection, and supplies of American LNG.

As expected, no breakthrough was achieved regarding territorial issues. The Ukrainian side believed that such decisions could only be made at the leadership level. Instead, the parties agreed to continue negotiations: a new meeting between Ukraine, the U.S., and European partners is set to take place in the near future, while Washington will attempt to bring Moscow and Kyiv back to direct negotiations.

What did Putin tell the Americans, and is he ready to make concessions?

It is important to note that Gene Lang, acting coordinator for sanctions policy at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, traveled to Moscow alongside Witkoff and Kushner. As reported by Axios, he participated in preparatory talks with Russian Special Representative Kirill Dmitriev, although he was not present at the actual meeting with Putin.

The White House clarified that the U.S. delegation also included representatives from the National Security Council, the State Department, and the U.S. Treasury Department. Axios viewed Lang’s presence as a sign that U.S. sanctions against Russia were one of the topics of discussion. This was especially significant given that just a few days earlier, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had told his Russian counterpart that Moscow should not expect any economic relief until it ends the war.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking to reporters yesterday, September 6, also mentioned sanctions, stating that the Ukrainian side expects the efforts of Lindsey Graham, a great friend of Ukraine, to be positively recognized by the U.S.

The conversation between Witkoff and Kushner with Putin lasted more than three hours. On the Russian side, Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov and Kirill Dmitriev participated in the meeting. At the start of the meeting, Putin stated that the situation remains “difficult,” but thanked Trump for “not ceasing his efforts” to resolve the war.

However, after more than three hours of talks, the parties did not announce any specific agreements regarding an end to the war. According to the NYT, during the negotiations with Trump’s team, the Kremlin consistently tried to convince them that Russia’s victory is allegedly inevitable. This is an old negotiating strategy: if Washington believes that time is on Moscow’s side, the logical move would be to pressure Kyiv so that Ukraine agrees to make concessions now.

This is exactly what Putin did this time as well: he told Witkoff and Kushner about Russian advances and his confidence in achieving military objectives, even though Western assessments of the front lines are significantly less optimistic for Moscow.

Political analyst Ihor Petrenko also pointed this out: “There’s a discrepancy.” That same evening, Ushakov reported that Putin had told his guests about the ‘army’s successes on the front lines’ and his confidence in achieving all objectives; Reuters described the Kremlin’s position as ‘unwavering.’ And on Sunday, Sibiga released the August figures: the territorial balance for the month was a gain of 5 square kilometers in Ukraine’s favor, Russian losses totaled at least 42,000, and the pace of advance over the past 8 months is 3.5 times slower than last year. One side is discussing economic incentives, while the other is talking about an impending victory. These two things converge in only one interpretation: Moscow is testing whether it can secure sanctions relief without making military concessions."

Are the parties ready to compromise? Analysts’ assessments

Political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko called the mission of Witkoff and Kushner “unfulfilled.” In his opinion, “everything went as expected—without any concrete results.”

Former Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Valeriy Chaly urged people not to have unrealistic expectations regarding the visit of Trump’s special envoys to Ukraine.

Journalist and columnist Vitaly Portnikov explained in his blog that, despite the intensification of the negotiation process, Putin is merely trying to feign interest in peace while pursuing his own interests, while Ukraine, in order to secure continued support from the U.S. and Western partners, is forced to “play along.”

“When Zelenskyy jokes that Witkoff and Kushner played the role of ‘Patriot’ in Kyiv, we should remember that other representatives of the U.S. administration who visited Ukraine played the same role at one time. We even joked about the trips made by U.S. presidential envoy Keith Kellogg, who had very limited influence within the administration, but whose very status commanded the respect of the Russians. And when he came to Ukraine, at least during that time, they didn’t shoot,” Portnikov noted.

As the analyst noted, U.S. support is critically necessary for Ukraine. This applies both to the sharing of intelligence and to the sale of American weapons to Europeans, which Europe then transfers to Ukraine. Therefore, Ukraine’s interest in maintaining relations with the United States is entirely understandable.

When might a real peace process begin? According to Portnikov, the war may simply continue without any genuine negotiations until the parties are so exhausted that they are physically unable to continue fighting.

“I hope that Ukraine will manage to wear Russia down to the point where it loses the ability to continue the war, even if Moscow itself is unwilling to negotiate. In my opinion, this scenario currently appears to be one of the most realistic outcomes of the events that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine,” he concluded.