US Envoys in Moscow and Kyiv: Any Results?

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and then with Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky in Kyiv to discuss ways to bring the war to an end. After the meetings Witkoff called on both sides to make compromises. Zelensky said that security and economic guarantees for Ukraine had been discussed. Moscow described the talks as “extremely frank” and “constructive”. Putin’s final bid with TrumpJOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. So far Putin’s hopes regarding Trump have been dashed, Gazeta Wyborcza concludes (Poland) : “Putin and his entourage had hoped that Trump would do for them the job they themselves are unable to do on the front line, and force the Ukrainians to hand over to the Russians what they demand but have been unable to secure despite heavy losses. ... That was their aim at the summit in Anchorage in August 2025, but it failed. ... Trump’s shelf life is coming to an end. It looks as though his fellow Republicans will suffer a defeat in the mid-term elections on 3 November and his hands will be tied by a hostile Congress. ... So if the Kremlin can still get anything out of him, it has to be now.” No hope without concessions by Zelensky In a Telegram post republished by Echo, journalist Fyodor Krasheninnikov sees the Ukrainian president playing a key role (Russia) : “I am wholeheartedly in favour of ending the war as quickly as possible, but in September 2026 there is only one way this will be possible – namely, if Trump’s envoys persuade Zelensky to accept Putin’s humiliating and unjust terms. Should this prove impossible for Zelensky, talks is all there will be. To those who want to jump to conclusions about my stance and ask, ‘Well what do you propose?’ I say: I am not proposing anything. I am merely saying that the war will continue and there are no other options unless Zelensky is prepared to make concessions.” Other Topics of Interest Drone Attack Sparks Major Fire at Shopping Center in Russian-Occupied Mariupol Flames and thick smoke were reported at the Galaktika shopping center, formerly a Ukrainian Metro store in Mariupol. Russia wants to eliminate the Ukrainian state All Russia’s demands call into question Ukraine’s very existence, making concessions on Ukraine’s part practically impossible, argues journalist Vitali Portnikov on TSN (Ukraine) : “Russia has a clear ambition: the elimination of Ukrainian statehood and the expulsion of a large part of the Ukrainian population from the territories in which they live. ... It will not seek a compromise with a nation whose statehood it seeks to eliminate. That is why, since 2014, there has been no alternative but to stand firm against it; there will be no other option in 2026, nor beyond that. ... What is at stake here is nothing less than the right of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people to an independent existence.”