Russian invasion Negotiations

Ukraine meeting begins in Moscow: “Amazing city”

US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have settled down in the Kremlin for a meeting with Vladimir Putin, several media outlets report. The men are to discuss a possible peace agreement in Ukraine.

Before the meeting began behind closed doors, Russian state media were allowed to listen to the opening greetings. According to CNN, the Russian president asked what the Americans thought of Moscow during his walk in the city earlier in the day.

“It’s a magnificent city,” Witkoff replied.

President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is himself in Ireland, says that Ukraine and the US have jointly developed a 20-point peace proposal that is now on the table. He plans to talk to the US delegation immediately after their meeting in Russia.

Analysis: Russia hopes Pokrovsk will give an advantage in the peace negotiations

There is little evidence that any progress will be made in tonight's meeting between the American delegation and Vladimir Putin, according to Weekendavisen's Anna Libak. She tells Danish P1 Morgen that Russia still wants the Ukrainian national identity to be wiped out.

- Therefore, it is completely unacceptable and not in Europe's interest for Russia to take over territories, she says.

The BBC's Steve Rosenberg reminds us that very few details have leaked out about the new, revised draft peace plan that is on the table ahead of the meeting in Moscow. He also believes that the negotiations on territories will be the most important.

- The big question is whether Russia still demands that Ukraine hand over areas in Donbas that they still control. This has so far been unacceptable to Kyiv, he says.

During the day, Putin has talked about Pokrovsk, the Ukrainian city that Russia claims to have taken. That the news about the strategically important city comes now is no coincidence, believes Sky News' Ivor Bennett.

- It feels like a targeted message to the US that says 'look here, we have the upper hand on the battlefield and therefore we should be allowed to decide in the peace negotiations', he says.

Ukraine awaits response from Moscow meeting: "I'm scared"

The meeting between Vladimir Putin and the Americans Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Moscow has been going on for over four hours. Peace in Ukraine is on the agenda and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has indicated that there is no limit to how long the meeting can last, writes CNN.

Volodymyr Zelenskyj writes on X that he is "waiting for signals" from the American delegation. The president states that Ukraine and the US can meet again if the meeting goes well.

"Everything depends on today's talks", he writes.

In parallel with the meeting in Moscow, Zelensky is visiting Ireland. There he was asked if he was worried about the US withdrawing from the peace talks.

– Yes, I am afraid. If any of our allies are tired, it scares me, he says, according to Reuters.