Ukrainian team to meet Witkoff and Kushner in US for ceasefire talks, Zelensky says
President Volodymyr Zelensky said a Ukrainian delegation will meet with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on Oct. 9 to discuss an energy and Black Sea ceasefire. The group will include Rustem Umerov and Kyrylo Budanov, and Zelensky hopes European officials will join the negotiations. The talks occur as Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a negotiated end to the war remains out of reach due to Russia's territorial demands.
Kyiv’s delegation for the Oct. 9 U.S. meetings will include Rustem Umerov, who heads foreign intelligence, and Kyrylo Budanov, Zelensky’s chief of staff, alongside other senior figures. Zelensky said the talks could run across two days and voiced hope that European representatives would join the Ukrainian and American teams.
The effort traces to early September, when Trump’s envoys visited Kyiv and Moscow before U.S. midterm elections. That round produced only a preliminary understanding to hold a three-way meeting with Russia and the U.S.; a month later, it remains unconfirmed. Russia’s deputy foreign minister said Oct. 7 that no American-brokered Moscow-Kyiv talks were planned.
If the talks yield progress, an energy or Black Sea truce could lower risks for Ukrainian civilians, power networks, and shipping, perhaps easing food and fuel costs beyond the region. Should they stall, continued strikes and uncertainty may deepen hardship for frontline communities and sustain broader European security worries. The outcome may also influence public confidence in diplomacy and in Ukraine’s partnerships.