Putin meets US envoys for 3 hours, says situation in Ukraine is 'difficult'

Russian President Vladimir Putin met U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner for around three hours in the Kremlin on Saturday, telling them at the start of the talks that the situation in Ukraine was "difficult."

Putin praised U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to end the 4-1/2-year war in Ukraine. Trump suggested on Friday the U.S. had a fresh proposal aimed at ending the war. He did not elaborate.

"Understanding that he is entering a difficult situation, he nevertheless does not stop his efforts to help bring about a settlement and to make his contribution to resolving the Russian-Ukrainian conflict," Putin said.

Russian state media said the talks lasted about three hours, and published video of the American motorcade leaving the Kremlin. There was no immediate comment from either side.

As in previous meetings, Putin was flanked by his foreign-policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, and his investment envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, who met the two visitors at the airport, took them to a restaurant, and then accompanied them to the Kremlin.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in a statement posted on the Kremlin's channel in Max messenger that Putin had ordered the military not to strike Kyiv for three days, starting at midnight on Saturday, as Witkoff and Kushner will head next to the Ukrainian capital. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he had spoken to the two U.S. envoys set to visit Ukraine on Sunday, adding that Ukraine was prepared to refrain from strikes on Moscow through Monday.

Putin noted in his opening remarks that the intensity of Ukrainian attacks on Russia had also decreased and promised to ensure the safety of the U.S. negotiators. He said Russia had not yet agreed to a broader three-day ceasefire.

A VAST GULF IN POSITIONS

The Russian Defence Ministry reported 53 Ukrainian drones in Russian airspace on Saturday, significantly fewer than the average seen in recent months. Moscow is celebrating City Day on Saturday, with hundreds of thousands of people taking part in open-air festivities across the city.

A vast gulf remains between Russia and Ukraine on how to end the war, the deadliest in Europe since World War Two. 

A source close to the Kremlin, speaking before reports emerged of a possible trip by Trump's envoys, said Putin was still intent on capturing more territory.

"There is no chance of reaching an agreement regarding the front line until Putin finishes securing the remaining part of the Donetsk region," the source told Reuters, adding that the Kremlin leader was confident — based on reports from his commanders — that this would happen by the end of the year.

KREMLIN'S POSITION 'UNSHAKEABLE'

Western military analysts see such a possibility as remote, given Moscow's slow rate of progress. Ukraine has refused to surrender land it has successfully defended at huge cost, and rejects such terms as tantamount to surrender.

The Kremlin said on Friday the position that Putin set out in a speech two years ago — that Ukraine should cede the entire territory of four regions claimed by Russia and abandon its plan to join NATO — was "unshakeable."    

Since the last peace talks in February, each side has intensified long-range air attacks deep inside the other's territory, while the war at sea has also escalated.

On the ground, the front lines have remained largely static, with Russia making only gradual gains in its attempt to take the whole of Ukraine's Donbas region.

Ukraine's drone strikes on Russian oil refineries have led to a summer of fuel shortages and rising prices for Russian motorists, while some 30 attacks on giant warehouses belonging mostly to Wildberries, the country's biggest online retailer, have affected the consumer economy.