US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow early on Nov. 12 to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian state media reported, two days after trilateral peace talks in Abu Dhabi ended without a meaningful breakthrough.
Putin's special envoy Kirill Dmitriev greeted the two Americans at a Moscow airport, according to The Straits Times, which published a photo of Dmitriev shaking hands with Witkoff. The envoys were set to meet Dmitriev before their Kremlin meeting with Putin, France 24 reported.
The Abu Dhabi talks, held Nov. 10-11, yielded one concrete result: the two sides agreed to a major prisoner swap, Rustem Umerov, head of the Ukrainian delegation, announced, though neither side disclosed the number of prisoners involved. On broader issues, including territorial questions, differences remained.
Kushner told reporters the envoys would travel to Dublin after Moscow to debrief Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is attending an informal meeting of European leaders. Zelenskyy said in Dublin that there was a window of opportunity to end the war before 2027.
"What's important is that the Americans flew to Putin with specifics. I would very much like them to return to Dublin with specifics," Zelenskyy said, according to The Guardian.
Explosions were heard in Kyiv early Nov. 12, a Reuters witness said, and Russia's Defence Ministry said it struck military and energy facilities in Ukraine, including a munitions warehouse in the capital region. Moscow's mayor said five drones heading for Moscow were downed.
According to The Kyiv Independent, the envoys announced on Nov. 11 that they would meet Putin in Russia.