BERLIN (AP) — U.S. envoys arrived in Berlin Sunday morning for the next round of talks aimed at reaching an agreement to end the war in Ukraine.
US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner were spotted in central Berlin by a photographer from the German news agency dpa.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian, US and European officials will hold a series of meetings in Berlin in the coming days.
“Most importantly, I will be meeting with envoys from President Trump, and there will also be meetings with our European partners, with many leaders, about the basis of peace – a political agreement to end the war,” Zelensky said in an address to the nation late Saturday.
Washington has spent months trying to accommodate each side's demands, while Trump has pushed for a quick end to the war with Russia and has grown increasingly frustrated by the delays. The search for possible compromises has encountered serious obstacles, including control of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, which is largely occupied by Russian troops, and security guarantees for Ukraine.
“The chance at the moment is significant, and this is important for each of our cities, for each of our Ukrainian communities,” Zelensky said. “We are working to make sure that there is a decent peace for Ukraine, and to get a guarantee – first of all a guarantee – that Russia will not return to Ukraine for a third invasion.”
Difficult obstacles remain
Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded that Ukraine withdraw its troops from the part of the Donetsk region still under its control and abandon its bid to join NATO among key peace conditions – demands that Kyiv has rejected.
Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov told the business daily Kommersant that Russian police and national guard troops will remain in parts of Donbass in eastern Ukraine even if they become a demilitarized zone under a promising peace plan – a demand likely to be rejected by Ukraine as US-led talks drag on.
Ushakov warned that finding a compromise could take a long time, noting that US proposals taking into account Russian demands were “worsened” by changes proposed by Ukraine and its European allies.
“We don’t know what changes they are making, but they are clearly not for the better,” Ushakov said, adding: “We will resolutely insist on our considerations.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who led European efforts to support Ukraine along with French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, said on Saturday that “decades of Pax Americana are largely over for us in Europe and also for us in Germany.”
He warned that Putin's goal is to “fundamentally change the borders of Europe, to restore the old Soviet Union within its borders.” “If Ukraine falls, he will not stop,” Merz warned on Saturday during a party conference in Munich.
Putin denies plans to restore the Soviet Union or attack any European allies.
Russia and Ukraine exchange air attacks
As peace efforts continue, Russia and Ukraine exchanged another round of air attacks.
The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia launched ballistic missiles and 138 attack drones into Ukraine overnight. In its daily report, the Air Force said 110 aircraft were intercepted or shot down, but missile and drone hits were recorded in six locations.
Zelensky said on Sunday that hundreds of thousands of families were still without electricity in the southern, eastern and northeastern regions, and work continued to restore power, heat and water in many regions after a large-scale attack last night.
The President of Ukraine said that over the past week, Russia launched more than 1,500 attack drones, almost 900 guided bombs and 46 missiles of various types into Ukraine.
“Ukraine needs peace on decent terms, and we are ready to work as constructively as possible. These days will be filled with diplomacy. It is very important that it brings results,” Zelensky said.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said that late Saturday night and early Sunday morning air defense systems shot down 235 Ukrainian drones.
In the Belgorod region, a drone injured a man and set fire to his house in the village of Yasnye Zori, said regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.
According to the regional governor, Andrei Bocharov, Ukrainian drones struck an oil depot in Uryupinsk, Volgograd region, causing a fire.
In the Krasnodar region, Ukrainian drones attacked the town of Afipsky, where an oil refinery is located. Authorities said the explosions shattered windows in residential buildings but did not report any damage to the refinery.
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Ciobanu reported from Warsaw, Poland.
