KYIV — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy connected by phone Wednesday with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, discussing ways to breathe new life into diplomatic efforts and move closer to ending the more than four-year conflict with Russia.
Both the Ukrainian government and the White House confirmed the call occurred. Efforts by Washington to broker a peace deal have largely stalled, with U.S. attention recently focused on tensions with Iran.
Zelenskiy took to the social media platform X to share news of the conversation, writing: “I just spoke with President Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff @SEPeaceMissions and Jared Kushner @jaredkushner.”
“It was a good, important conversation on how to reinvigorate diplomacy and bring peace closer. Peace is needed – peace with dignity, and Ukraine has long been ready for it,” the Ukrainian president added.
Zelenskiy noted that both parties would maintain close communication going forward.
Earlier in the day, Zelenskiy also posted on X that he had sat down with U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker during a meeting in Kyiv. That discussion centered on licensing for the production of the Patriot air defense system.
“We had a good talk – first and foremost on how to protect Ukrainian skies with more Patriot interceptor supplies through PURL,” Zelenskiy said, referring to a NATO- and U.S.-backed program that coordinates the funding and delivery of weapons to Ukraine.
“This is a critical priority now, as massive Russian attacks continue unabated,” he added.
President Donald Trump had previously agreed, during a face-to-face meeting with Zelenskiy at the NATO summit held in Turkey earlier this month, to grant Ukraine a license to manufacture Patriot missile interceptors.
While Ukraine has stepped up its use of medium- and long-range drone strikes targeting energy infrastructure inside Russia, protecting Ukrainian cities from incoming Russian missile strikes remains a top concern for Kyiv’s leadership.
