US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner left Moscow for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, as Kyiv warned that restrictions had returned to a satellite system supporting its battlefield operations.
The Kremlin meeting lasted about two hours and followed two days of American-mediated negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Abu Dhabi. Those discussions produced an agreement on a major prisoner exchange but no breakthrough towards a ceasefire or comprehensive peace settlement.
Putin met the American negotiators alongside presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev and Vladimir Medinsky, who headed Russia’s delegation at the Abu Dhabi discussions. Witkoff and Kushner were travelling to Dublin, where Zelenskyy was attending a gathering of European leaders.
A central issue was whether European representatives could participate directly in negotiations. Kushner had said Washington wanted to broaden the format to reflect Europe’s role in any future security arrangements, while Moscow had resisted giving European governments a seat at the table.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said European countries would first need to identify a representative. Washington and Kyiv favour appointing a single European negotiator, although disagreements persist over the continent’s involvement and the terms of any postwar security guarantees.
Putin reiterated his opposition to European troops being deployed in Ukraine following a ceasefire, warning that Russia would regard such forces as a security threat. He also maintained Moscow’s territorial claims over four Ukrainian regions it declared annexed in 2022, despite not controlling them completely.
Zelenskyy has rejected any settlement requiring Ukraine to surrender territory to Russia. Kyiv also wants binding security assurances against another attack, while Moscow continues to demand changes to the military and political arrangements it considers threatening.
Kushner described the Abu Dhabi negotiations as serious and detailed, saying both sides had offered proposals intended to narrow their differences. He nevertheless acknowledged that substantial disagreements remained. The prisoner exchange was the clearest concrete outcome, with neither side announcing a confirmed number of captives to be released. Kushner called the proposed exchange a means of reuniting families and building trust between the parties, although the timetable and practical arrangements for transferring prisoners remained unspecified.
Ukraine’s delegation, led by Rustem Umerov, said the discussions had also covered security guarantees and the country’s future reconstruction. The meetings marked the first direct negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv in nine months, with Washington seeking to maintain contact with both governments.
The diplomatic effort coincided with a fresh complaint from Zelenskyy about Starshield, the military satellite communications service operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. He said Ukrainian units had recorded significant disruptions across the front line and Russian-occupied areas, affecting operations involving drones.
Zelenskyy said military investigators had determined that the disruptions were systematic speed restrictions rather than random technical failures. Ukrainian officials said the system was preventing drones travelling faster than approximately 161 kilometres an hour from maintaining the connections needed for their missions.
Kyiv has sought explanations from the United States and SpaceX. Denys Sienik, Ukraine’s chargé d’affaires in Washington, said Ukrainian officials had not received clarification from the Pentagon or the company about the renewed limitations affecting military drone operations.
Starshield is distinct from the commercial Starlink network, which also supports Ukrainian communications. Ukraine relies on satellite connectivity for reconnaissance, drone interception and other military tasks, making any restrictions particularly consequential while Russian air attacks continue.
Similar limitations emerged in October before being lifted. Musk subsequently acknowledged restrictions on satellite services, saying SpaceX did not want its technology used for offensive strikes against Russia. The cause and authorisation of Thursday’s reported disruption were not independently established.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s air force said Russia had launched missiles and 123 drones overnight, including 73 jet-powered drones, with strikes recorded at 17 locations. Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces had intercepted 71 Ukrainian drones and attacked facilities associated with drone and missile production around Kyiv. Neither military’s battlefield claims could be independently confirmed.
Zelenskyy was in Dublin for the European Political Community summit, bringing together leaders from more than 40 countries. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Ukraine, Europe and the United States were broadly aligned on security guarantees, but stressed that a ceasefire or peace agreement remained necessary before such arrangements could take effect.
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