US envoys visit Kyiv as Putin eyes Donbas; Ukraine hits Russian targets

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with US President Donald Trump's special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Kyiv, their first visit to the capital, as Russia's Vladimir Putin reportedly expects to capture all of Donbas by year's end. Kushner said the US seeks not just to stop the war but to create conditions for lasting peace, though ending it before winter is not guaranteed. Witkoff expressed satisfaction with recent contacts in Moscow and Kyiv, saying the main task is narrowing differences and establishing communication channels. Zelensky advocated for trilateral talks involving Ukraine, the US, and Russia, with possible European participation, while acknowledging Moscow shows insufficient readiness. Ukraine's military struck the Ryazan oil refinery, Rostov-on-Don airfield, a Podlet radar station, and two Pantsir-S1 systems overnight. Reuters reported Putin's confidence in seizing all Donbas by end of 2026, though Western analysts deem this unlikely given slow Russian advances. Ukrainian authorities denied Russian claims that Svyatohirsk had fallen.