An extensive five-hour dialogue unfolded in Moscow between Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner, who is also the son-in-law of former U.S. President Donald Trump. However, this intensive meeting did not result in any significant progress towards resolving the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

Witkoff and Kushner traveled to Moscow on Tuesday, following a pivotal Sunday meeting with Ukrainian delegates to discuss a revised peace initiative. Their visit aimed to engage directly with the Kremlin in a bid to address the contentious issues at hand.

Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign policy advisor, participated in the discussions alongside Kirill Dmitriev, the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund. After the meeting, Ushakov described the talks as “extremely useful, constructive, and substantive,” according to an official statement released by the Kremlin.

Ushakov highlighted that the discussions focused primarily on territorial disputes, which are seen as crucial to resolving the crisis. The parties also explored the potential for future economic collaboration between the two nations, reflecting on broader prospects beyond immediate conflict resolution.

Captured in a symbolic moment, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were pictured arriving for discussions with President Putin at the Kremlin’s Senate Palace in Moscow on December 2, 2025. This meeting was also attended by Ushakov and Dmitriev, as documented by the Kremlin Pool photographers.

He added that the Russian side received four documents from Witkoff and Kushner during the meeting, including one that consisted of 27 points, but declined to go into detail of what they contained.

The original leaked 28-point plan was criticized by European leaders as too favorable to Moscow and later whittled down.

The issue of territory was a key part of the discussion, according to Ushakov, who said no compromise had yet been found.

“However, some of the American proposals appear more or less acceptable. They do, nevertheless, require further discussion. Certain wording we have been offered is not suitable for us. In other words, the work will continue,” said the senior Russian diplomat.

President Vladimir Putin engages in talks with Jared Kushner, Steve Witkoff, Yuri Ushakov and Kirill Dmitriev at the Kremlin’s Senate Palace in Moscow on December 2, 2025. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

A key sticking point in negotiations has been territorial demands from Russia, who wants Ukraine to relinquish the entire Donbas, including parts its military does not currently control. 

The Institute for the Study of War, a nonpartisan public policy research organization that tracks the frontlines of the Russia-Ukraine war, said Russian forces have advanced in Sumy Oblast and near Kostiantynivka, Pokrovsk and Huliaipole.

Ukraine’s Joint Forces Task Force reported on Telegram that its forces still control most of the city of Kupiansk, though Russian forces maintain isolated groups in the northern parts.

An evacuation van drives through the largely destroyed frontline city of Kupiansk, Ukraine, on Jan. 6, 2025. (Wolfgang Schwan/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday that Rustem Umerov, the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, was preparing for a meeting in Brussels with national security advisors to European leaders to brief their colleagues on the Witkoff-Kushner meeting with Putin.

“After Brussels, Rustem Umerov and Andrii Hnatov will begin preparations for a meeting with envoys of President Trump in the United States,” said Zelenskyy. “As always, Ukraine will work constructively in pursuit of a real peace. I expect a new report following the results of today’s meetings in Europe.”