MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
President Trump's envoys went to Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, for the first official visit during wartime.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff came right from Moscow. They said they want peace talks to restart. The visit did not produce a breakthrough, but it gave Ukrainians in Kyiv a reprieve from near-constant Russian attacks. In a few moments, we'll ask former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor about these developments. We begin with the latest from the ground.
MARTIN: Joining us now to talk about all this is NPR's Joanna Kakissis, who is in Kyiv. Joanna, good morning.
JOANNA KAKISSIS, BYLINE: Good morning, Michel.
MARTIN: So you were at the press conference with Kushner, Witkoff and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. What did they say?
KAKISSIS: So all three men said the talks were substantive and new ideas had been presented, but they didn't offer any details about these ideas even when reporters pressed them. Now, the men were seated on the stage outside the ornate presidential palace in Kyiv under rainy and gray skies. Jared Kushner, who is Trump's son-in-law, said President Trump wants to end the war as soon as possible. A Ukrainian journalist asked, you know, could this happen as early as this winter? And Kushner said he wants to try.
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JARED KUSHNER: I think if we can achieve that, it'd be an incredible thing. It doesn't mean that we'll - we will achieve it. But it's a - an effort that's very important to try.
KAKISSIS: Zelenskyy looked really skeptical as Kushner said this. And he told reporters afterwards that he expects Russia to continue the war. And because Ukraine is facing another brutal winter, with more Russian airstrikes on its energy grid expected, Zelenskyy says he is pushing for aid that includes more air defense supplies.
MARTIN: Joanna, can you just remind us of why peace talks have stalled?
KAKISSIS: Yeah. Well, you know, the White House, which has sponsored these talks, has been occupied with Iran since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in February. However, a member of Ukraine's negotiating team told me that the Ukrainians actually never stopped communicating with Trump's team and even occasionally with Russian representatives.
MARTIN: Did this help at all?
KAKISSIS: Well, actually, no, not really, because the two sides remain so far apart on crucial issues. For example, consider the very sensitive issue of territory. Russia has pushed for Ukraine to give up land it still controls in exchange for a peace deal. Public opinion polls say that most Ukrainians strongly oppose this. Now, Zelenskyy said he did discuss the territory issue with Kushner and Witkoff.
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PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: And he's saying something this sensitive can only be handled by leaders - himself, Vladimir Putin, with maybe Trump and the Europeans also involved.
MARTIN: But what did this visit mean for Zelenskyy and for Ukrainians in general?
KAKISSIS: Yeah. Well, Michel, for Zelenskyy, the symbolism of just seeing Trump's envoys in Kyiv mattered. Remember, this is their first-ever wartime trip to Ukraine, and they have visited Moscow several times. So the war has closed Ukrainian airspace. They traveled to Kyiv on a train dubbed the Peace Express. Witkoff told everybody that he loved it.
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STEVE WITKOFF: It reminded me of my days taking the train to see my grandmother down to Florida. And it was great.
KAKISSIS: And what was also great, Zelenskyy said, is that having Trump's most trusted representatives in Kyiv meant Russia would not dare bomb the city.
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ZELENSKYY: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: Zelenskyy's saying Kushner and Witkoff visiting Kyiv did so much more than any Patriot air defense system to protect the city. And he said, "please come more often so our people can live a little."
MARTIN: That is NPR's Joanna Kakissis in Kyiv, Ukraine's capital. Joanna, thank you.
KAKISSIS: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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