US envoys meet Putin in Moscow to discuss Ukraine peace

US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday as part of a US-brokered peace mission for the war in Ukraine, sparking outrage over Witkoff's flattering remarks to the Russian leader. Witkoff thanked Putin for the reception after a hours-long wait and said the meeting would rank at the top of his memories, visibly pleasing the Kremlin chief. Kushner greeted Putin with "happy holiday" in Russian, while Russian officials called the talks constructive but offered no new peace proposals. The envoys arrived in Kyiv on Sunday to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky. During the mission, both sides spared capitals from attacks, though strikes elsewhere killed civilians, including three family members in Kharkiv, and a Ukrainian drone hit a refinery near Moscow.