Europe joins Ukraine peace talks as Putin rejects peacekeepers

Ukraine and Russia have agreed to expand the next round of peace negotiations to include European countries, according to US envoy Jared Kushner, who met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday. The move aims to address broader postwar European security arrangements alongside territorial issues. Kushner said the talks would also work toward the largest prisoner exchange of the war, potentially reuniting thousands of families. After the Moscow meeting, Kushner and envoy Steve Witkoff flew to Ireland to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who welcomed European participation and hoped the agenda would include ceasefire steps. Putin warned Europe against sending peacekeeping troops, calling it a "continuation of war," and refused to soften territorial demands. Zelenskyy reported new restrictions on US-made Starshield satellite communications used on the battlefield, affecting the entire frontline, and called the US approach of discussing a new European security order with Russia "a bit strange." Fighting continued, with drone strikes killing two in Sumy, injuring five in Rivne, and killing one in Russia's Belgorod region, while Ukrainian agricultural firm Kernel Holding suspended operations at oilseed plants after Russian attacks.