Zelenskyy Welcomes US Pledge to Include European Union in Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks

Envoys expand talks

U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner shuttled between Moscow and Dublin as they sought to broker a Russia-Ukraine peace deal that would include European Union delegates in the next round of talks. Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the pledge, saying bringing Europe into negotiations would ensure the EU has a "voice" in negotiations, after Kushner and Witkoff met him in Dublin on Thursday evening. Vladimir Putin told the envoys in Moscow that Russia's position on the war and its demand for territory "has not changed," and the meetings followed the first direct Russia-Ukraine talks in nine months.

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The talks also produced another prisoner exchange agreement, with Kushner saying it would return "thousands of people to their families," while the exact figure and timing were not detailed. The negotiations followed talks in Abu Dhabi last week that failed to reach a breakthrough in ending the war, and the BBC said the Kremlin meeting came after Europe security concerns deepened this week.

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Putin warns on troops

Kushner said the expanded next round would allow the parties to address "the broader postwar European security arrangements" alongside territorial issues, after he met Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin. Zelenskyy said the agenda should include steps toward de-escalation, and he told the BBC that bringing Europe into the talks would give the EU a "voice" in negotiations. Putin warned Europe not to send peacekeeping troops into Ukraine, calling it a "continuation of war," and he said Washington must work with European allies to decide whether they want peace or war in Ukraine.

Witkoff told Russian state TV that "The Europeans will join at the next meeting," describing it as a very important moment because they are partners. Zelenskyy also raised Starshield restrictions, saying disruptions were affecting the entire frontline and Russian-controlled parts of Ukraine, and he said the situation was "a bit strange" for the U.S. approach of discussing a new European security order with Russia.

Reporting for this sectionThe Guardian

Fighting and diplomatic stakes

While the envoys pursued a broader negotiating format, fighting continued along the 1,200-kilometre front line, and the BBC said the conflict stretched toward the five-year mark.

The Ukrainian air force said Russia launched 123 drones, of which 73 were jet powered, and it reported defenders intercepted or suppressed 89 drones, including 51 jet powered, alongside five Banderol missiles.

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Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces downed 71 Ukrainian drones overnight, and it said the drones were shot down over multiple regions including Belgorod, Bryansk, Kursk, Tula, Oryol, Rostov and Moscow regions, plus occupied Crimea.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine was experiencing another slowdown in the U.S. Starshield system, and he said military units recorded "significant disruptions" including speed restrictions limiting Ukrainian drones to 161 kph.

Zelenskyy also insisted that the proposed prisoner exchange was a positive step while Ukraine would not surrender Russian-occupied territory in exchange for peace, as the diplomatic push aimed to create momentum toward a settlement.

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