Putin envoy Kirill Dmitriev heads to US for talks with Trump aides

Putin's envoy Kirill Dmitriev flew to the United States on Wednesday for talks with representatives of President Donald Trump's administration, including Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, according to Reuters. The visit, coordinated with Putin, will take place in New York during the UN General Assembly session and follows a Kremlin meeting between Putin and US representatives earlier this month. The stated goal is supporting Russia-US dialogue and "continuing peace efforts," with economic cooperation, energy issues, and Ukraine settlement on the agenda. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Putin the "patient zero" spreading war globally, while 50 countries and the EU issued a joint UN statement urging a ceasefire, which the US did not join. Trump has urged Putin to end the war, and the Kremlin welcomed a US invitation for Putin to attend the G20 summit in Miami.