US envoys' Kyiv talks yield no progress on ending war

Talks between US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv produced no tangible progress toward ending the war, according to the Financial Times. The meeting lasted several hours and failed to bridge key differences between Kyiv and Moscow. The US side presented updated versions of previously discussed peace proposals, revised after negotiations stalled in February amid the US-Iran conflict. However, sources said the documents contained few fundamentally new ideas, with envoys mainly attempting to revive earlier frameworks and narrow gaps between the two sides. The Donbas territory remains a central obstacle, with Russia controlling about 75% of the region while Ukraine holds the rest. Zelensky insists Ukraine will not cede any territory held by its forces, saying such issues must be resolved at the leaders' level. Both sides agreed ending the war before winter is unlikely, though Washington hopes for progress in negotiations.