On a Thursday in early September, Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Ukrainians to expect American negotiators in Kyiv and Moscow within days, with dates already set, while Vladimir Putin, speaking at an economic forum, allowed that a settlement is possible even as he condemned Ukrainian strikes on civilian aircraft. The war continues as it has for years, with diplomacy and bombardment moving side by side, and the people of Kyiv, Belgorod and the Donetsk region paying the cost on both sides of the line. Whether this new round of envoys becomes a real opening, or another pause between volleys, depends on
US Envoy to Visit Kyiv and Moscow as Putin Signals 'Chance' of Peace Amid Escalating Strikes
A Ukrainian strike killed four people, including two medical personnel, in Shebekino, Belgorod; Russian attacks injured ten in Kyiv and killed civilians in Donetsk-region drone strikes.
"Is there a chance? In my view, yes, there is."
Mark
Why does this particular set of visits matter?
Mimi
Because it's the first concrete sign of the US returning to active mediation. Zelenskyy says preliminary dates exist, and he stressed that America staying engaged is important.
Mark
And Putin sounded open to it.
Mimi
He said there's a chance, and that the US and China are ready to support a settlement. But he also said Ukrainian attacks on civilian aircraft complicate bilateral talks.
Luke
Worth noting that the dates are Zelenskyy's account, and preliminary. Nothing in the reporting shows Moscow or Washington confirming them.
Mark
Trump said he wants a summit with Putin too.
Mimi
When Putin is ready for a deal, yes. They last met for US-mediated talks in February.
Luke
So that's a stated wish, not a scheduled event. And Putin's "chance" is a general remark, not a position on terms.
Mark
What about the strikes on the same day?
Mimi
Four killed in Shebekino, including a doctor and a medic, three civilians killed in Donetsk drone strikes, ten hurt in Kyiv. Zelenskyy read the Coca-Cola plant hit as a message to America.
Luke
That's his interpretation. The source gives no Russian statement on the intent. Also, the Kyiv death toll was corrected: a reported death turned out untrue, and the mayor's injury count of nine differs from the administration's ten.
Mark
Anything on the weapons question?
Mimi
Trump says sales to allies will resume soon, but also that the US is keeping munitions for itself and wants Europe to repay past aid. How that squares with Ukraine's needs isn't spelled out.
Le Pouls
- US negotiators are set to travel to Kyiv and Moscow, with preliminary dates fixed but nothing yet confirmed on the ground.
- Putin says a deal is possible, yet brands Ukrainian strikes on civilian aircraft as terrorism, casting a shadow over bilateral talks.
- Trump wants a summit with Putin, but the last US-mediated talks were in February and no meeting is scheduled.
- Strikes keep landing: four dead in Belgorod, ten injured in Kyiv including a child, and a Coca-Cola plant hit near Brovary.
- Kyiv's own security agencies clashed in a shootout that wounded three intelligence officers, and Moscow is retaliating against German cultural centres.
On a Thursday in early September, Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Ukrainians to expect American negotiators in Kyiv and Moscow within days, with dates already set, while Vladimir Putin, speaking at an economic forum, allowed that a settlement is possible even as he condemned Ukrainian strikes on civilian aircraft. The war continues as it has for years, with diplomacy and bombardment moving side by side, and the people of Kyiv, Belgorod and the Donetsk region paying the cost on both sides of the line. Whether this new round of envoys becomes a real opening, or another pause between volleys, depends on what the parties are willing to say to one another in the rooms they are about to enter.
On Thursday evening, Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed Ukrainians in his nightly video and told them to expect visitors. Negotiators acting for the American president will come to Kyiv in the coming days and will also meet officials in Moscow. Preliminary dates have been set. He said it was important that America stay active in the effort.
The same day, Vladimir Putin struck a measured tone at an economic forum. He said the US and China, among others, were ready to back a settlement, but insisted that Russia and Ukraine must settle it themselves. Asked whether there was a chance for peace, he answered yes. He then accused Ukraine of terrorism over attacks on civilian aircraft, a charge that he said made bilateral talks harder.
In Washington, Donald Trump said he wanted the war and its losses to end, and that he expected it would. He has said he wants a summit with Putin once the Kremlin is ready. The two last met for US-mediated talks in February. Trump also said he would ask European countries to repay American military aid, and dismissed reports that US munitions stocks were depleted by the war in Iran.
The violence continued throughout. A Ukrainian strike in Shebekino, just across the border in Belgorod, killed four people, including a doctor, a medic and a married couple. In Russian-held parts of Donetsk, drone strikes killed three civilians. In Kyiv, a Russian attack injured nine or ten people, six of them medical workers, started a fire and damaged a high-rise. Drones also hit a Coca-Cola plant near Brovary, an American-owned facility, which Zelenskyy called a clear signal to America.
Inside Ukraine, a dispute between two security agencies over a Russian nationalist fighting with Ukrainian forces, who had vanished for nine days, ended in a shootout in Kyiv that wounded three military intelligence officers. Investigators will examine how it happened. Relations with Europe also soured, as Moscow moved to close German cultural centres in retaliation for Berlin's accusation over a drone attack on Leipzig airport.
The key questions now are whether the American visits take place on schedule, and whether they lead to the summit Trump has described.
In his nightly video address on Thursday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Ukrainians to expect visitors. Negotiators representing the US president, he said, will come to Kyiv in the coming days and will also meet officials in Moscow. Preliminary dates have been set. "It is important that America continues to be active," he said.
The same day, Vladimir Putin spoke at an economic forum and struck a measured note about the prospects for ending the war. He said several countries, the US and China among them, are prepared to back a settlement, but that the matter must ultimately be settled by Russia and Ukraine themselves. "Is there a chance? In my view, yes, there is," he said. He then added a complication: he called Ukrainian attacks on civilian aircraft "acts of terrorism" and said they make bilateral peace talks harder.
In Washington, Donald Trump told GB News, in an interview aired Thursday, that he wants the war and the losses on both sides to stop. "I think we'll get it," he said. A day earlier he had told reporters he wants a summit with Putin once the Kremlin leader is ready for a peace deal. The two last met for US-mediated talks in February.
Trump also turned to the question of weapons. He has said he will ask European nations to repay the US for military aid and munitions previously sent to Ukraine. In a social media post on Thursday he dismissed reports that US munition stockpiles are badly depleted because of the separate war in Iran, saying production is being ramped up. The US, he wrote, is keeping munitions for itself rather than selling them to others, though he said sales to allies would soon begin again.
The fighting went on alongside the diplomacy. A Ukrainian strike in Shebekino, in Russia's Belgorod region just across the border, killed four people, according to the regional headquarters: a doctor, a medic and a married couple. Three others were hurt. In Russian-controlled parts of Ukraine's Donetsk region, the local head said drone strikes in three separate districts killed three civilians.
In Kyiv, a Russian attack injured 10 people, including a child, started a fire and badly damaged a high-rise residential building, according to the city's military administration. It had first reported one death, then said that report was untrue. Mayor Vitali Klitschko put the injured at nine, six of them medical personnel. Separately, Russian drones hit a Coca-Cola plant near Brovary, east of the capital, with no injuries reported. Zelenskyy called it "a clear Russian signal to America," noting the facility is American.
Trouble surfaced inside Ukraine too. Zelenskyy said an investigation will determine how a dispute between two security agencies escalated into a shootout in Kyiv this week, which left three members of the defence ministry's HUR military intelligence directorate injured. The dispute centres on a Russian nationalist activist, fighting alongside Ukrainian troops, who vanished for nine days.
Relations between Moscow and Europe also worsened. Foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia will close German cultural centres on its territory, a retaliation after Berlin blamed Moscow for an attempted drone attack on Leipzig airport on 4 August.
What to watch is whether the promised US visits to Kyiv and Moscow happen on the dates set, and whether they lead toward the Trump-Putin summit Trump says he wants.
Citations marquantes
It is important that America continues to be active.— Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Is there a chance? In my view, yes, there is.— Vladimir Putin
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