Europe joins Ukraine peace talks as US and Russia hold first direct negotiations

European states will for the first time participate directly in Ukraine peace negotiations, following talks between US envoy Steve Witkoff and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Dublin. The announcement came after US negotiators met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow for about two hours. The sides agreed to a prisoner exchange involving a larger number of detainees, though the exact figure remains undisclosed, and scheduled another round of talks. Zelenskyy emphasized that European representatives should become part of the negotiation team with their own voice, rather than remaining on the sidelines. Russia's foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov described the Moscow talks as "substantial, constructive, open and useful," but Putin continues to reject any European troop deployment in Ukraine post-ceasefire as "absolutely unacceptable." Meanwhile, fighting persists along the 1,200-kilometer front, with Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure ongoing.