Trump Envoys' Kyiv Cathedral Tour Angered Russians

On September 6, US President Donald Trump's special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, where a tour of St. Sophia Cathedral was organized for them despite Russian objections. The American envoys arrived by train and were served Crimean Tatar dishes en route. The meeting was moved from Mariinsky Palace to the cathedral, where Ukrainian negotiators including Kyrylo Budanov, Rustem Umerov, David Arakhamia, and Serhiy Kyslytsia gathered first. Zelensky greeted the guests with "Hi Jared! Hi Steve!" and explained they traveled by rail because Russian strikes prevented a plane landing. The tour was followed by multi-hour negotiations in several stages, with a briefing held at Mariinsky Palace. Zelensky joked the envoys "worked better than Patriot systems" and gifted them embroidered shirts and "Kyiv Regime" T-shirts. Witkoff praised the train journey, comparing it to visiting his grandmother in Florida.