Witkoff and Kushner to Meet Putin in Bid to End Ukraine War

Steven Witkoff, the special envoy of US President Donald Trump, and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday (2 December). The discussion aims to explore potential avenues to end the ongoing war in Ukraine. Trump has repeatedly stated that he seeks to bring the conflict to a close, although previous attempts—including an August meeting with Putin in Alaska—have so far yielded no results.

A leaked 28-point US peace proposal last week caused concern among Ukrainian and European officials. The draft included matters relating to NATO, territories under Russian control and restrictions on the Ukrainian military. Following this, European powers tabled counterproposals. At the Geneva talks, both the United States and Ukraine said they had brought a revised and updated peace plan.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Witkoff will hold talks with Putin later in the day. However, he did not provide details regarding Russia’s “red lines”. Putin has said he is prepared for peace negotiations, but warned that Russian forces would advance further if Ukraine rejected any agreement.

According to the current pro-Ukraine mapping, Russian forces control more than 19 percent of Ukrainian territory—one percent more than two years ago. Russian military commanders announced on Monday that the towns of Pokrovsk and Vovchansk had also been seized.

US officials say more than 1.2 million people have been killed or injured during the two-year war, although neither Ukraine nor Russia has released specific casualty figures.

Russia’s key demands include Ukraine never joining NATO, full control of the Donbas region, restrictions on the Ukrainian armed forces and protection for Russian-speaking and Orthodox communities. Ukraine fears that accepting these conditions would amount to surrender. However, the United States has put forward a 10-year security guarantee proposal for Kyiv.

Khaborwala/SS