Putin calls U.S. envoy talks useful but no Ukraine breakthrough

Russian President Vladimir Putin held more than three hours of "highly useful" talks on Saturday with two U.S. envoys seeking a deal to end the Ukraine war, a Kremlin aide said, but he gave no indication of any breakthrough. The aide, Yuri Ushakov, said Americans Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner "outlined a number of ideas regarding possible avenues for a settlement" without specifying them. Putin reiterated Russia's battlefield progress and the need to address "all the root causes of the conflict," while a White House official called the talks "substantive" with next steps to be announced in coming weeks. The envoys flew to Kyiv on Sunday to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Russia and Ukraine remain far apart, with Moscow demanding territorial concessions and Kyiv refusing to surrender land. Putin ordered a three-day pause in strikes on Kyiv for the visit, while both sides continue long-range attacks.