Zelenskyy says US envoys offered useful peace ideas amid fresh strikes

Kyiv,UPDATED: Sep 8, 2026 18:16 IST

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that US envoys who visited Kyiv had presented some "very good, worthwhile ideas" for ending the war with Russia. He also said he hopes to meet Donald Trump within two weeks as Ukraine presses for more Patriot air defence systems.

His remarks came as Russia and Ukraine resumed deadly aerial attacks after a brief weekend truce in their capitals during the visits by US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff. Ukrainian officials said the overnight strikes killed at least three civilians and wounded 16 others in Kyiv, while Russian officials said three people were killed and 13 wounded in Moscow-run areas.

Kushner and Witkoff held separate talks in Moscow and Kyiv over the weekend with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy. The meetings did not appear to produce any major breakthrough towards ending the fighting, more than four years after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Zelenskyy said he is counting on meeting Trump around September 20, when the UN General Assembly is due to be held in New York. He indicated that he would press for more Patriot air defence systems to help Ukraine counter Russian ballistic missiles.

He thanked Washington officials for trying to unblock talks with Russia, which he said had made little progress since early this year. "As for the peace package that Kushner spoke about and the new ideas, I'll tell you frankly, there were indeed a couple of very good, worthwhile ideas," Zelenskyy said in audio messages sent in response to reporters' questions.

He said the proposals would remain private for now, but added that he hopes trilateral talks between delegations from Ukraine, Russia and the US can take place in the autumn. Zelenskyy also said Ukraine is "ready to find a compromise" on grain exports and energy. Both sides have targeted grain ships in the Black Sea, while Ukraine has hit Russian oil facilities and Russia has repeatedly struck Ukraine's power grid ahead of winter.

In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov gave a more guarded assessment of the latest diplomatic moves. "We're convinced the victory is very close. We're very confident in our military potential," Peskov told reporters, while also saying Russia wants a peaceful solution and welcomes Trump's diplomatic efforts.

Putin has sought to present Russia as negotiating from a position of strength. But European officials and Western analysts have said Russia's larger army has been unable to make major gains along the 1,250-kilometre front line, where it is trying to capture the eastern Donetsk region. The Institute for the Study of War said on Sunday: "Russian forces will not seize Donetsk ... until 2032 at their current rate of advance - if they can seize it at all." It added that Russia's rate of advance has slowed significantly since 2025.

With ground fighting largely bogged down, both sides have stepped up drone and missile attacks. Russia's main targets in its overnight assault were Kyiv and the southern Odesa region. Ukraine's Interior Minister Ivan Vyhivskyi said explosions were heard in Kyiv for nearly five hours and that more than 50 sites were damaged, including residential buildings, dormitories, schools, shops, petrol stations and a flour production plant. There was no immediate casualty count from Odesa.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described the attack as "a horrific attack" and accused Putin of damaging US-led peace efforts. "His ballistic missiles speak louder than his words on diplomacy," Sybiha wrote on X. "Strike after strike on residential buildings brings him no closer to winning this war - it is nothing but senseless terror."

Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces had carried out a massive overnight strike on Ukrainian military-industrial facilities. It said the targets included sites storing Ukrainian drones and cruise missiles, as well as transport, logistics and distribution centres for military cargo in Kyiv and the surrounding region. It also said infrastructure at the port of Chornomorsk in the Odesa region used for "unloading military cargo" had been hit.

The latest exchanges underscored the gap between fresh diplomatic contacts and the continued escalation in attacks, with Zelenskyy speaking of possible compromise and new ideas for peace even as Moscow insisted it was close to victory and both sides traded strikes again.

With PTI Inputs

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