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Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky predicts another winter at war despite ‘substantive talks’ with Trump envoys

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Kidwai, S., & Bancroft, H. (2026, September 6). Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky predicts another winter at war despite ‘substantive talks’ with Trump envoys. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-live-trump-putin-zelensky-talks-witkoff-kushner-b3045408.html

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The Independent · collected 2026-09-06 · by Suha Kidwai, Holly Bancroft

Quick Summary

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine is preparing for another winter at war with Russia despite holding "substantive" peace talks with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. The talks, which also involved European partners, focused on support for air defense, energy sector aid, and American liquefied natural gas (LNG). Zelensky met with the two Trump officials in Kyiv on Sunday after they held three hours of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. He stated that ending the war will ultimately depend on resolving the issue of contested territory in eastern Ukraine.
Written by AI on 2026-09-07, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

US President Donald Trump has announced that his special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, will visit Russia and Ukraine this weekend as part of efforts to end the war between the two countries. According to Trump, the envoys will be bringing a proposal aimed at ending the war, although he did not elaborate on what the proposal entails. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has confirmed that he will meet with the envoys on Sunday after they visit Moscow on Saturday to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The visits come amid ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine, which have been fighting for several years. The war has resulted in significant human suffering and economic losses, and efforts to broker a peace deal have been ongoing for some time.

Trump's announcement was made in the Oval Office on Friday, where he also stated that his administration had an "idea for peace" but did not provide further details. Witkoff and Kushner are expected to meet with Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials during their visit to Kyiv, although there have been reports of concerns over safety due to Russian warnings.

In a separate development, Trump has also said that he wants European countries to pay back the US for military aid and munitions previously sent to Ukraine, which were provided free of charge. This comes amid concerns over depleted US stockpiles of ammunition, particularly in light of ongoing conflicts with Iran.

The visits by Witkoff and Kushner are seen as a significant development in efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. However, it remains unclear whether a lasting peace agreement can be reached given the complex nature of the conflict.

Written for “US Peace Efforts in Ukraine” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 66 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 US Peace Efforts in Ukraine
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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
54
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
2%
1 of 54 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
59/100
The Independent's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
67
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-07 · source text last changed 2026-09-07 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Independent · 3426 article(s) · 7 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 7 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Suha Kidwai
29 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Because key parties have ruled out working with one another on ideological or personal grounds, political analysts note that forming an administration will require at least one faction to reverse its campaign commitments.
🔮 Because key parties have ruled out working with one another on ideological or personal grounds, political analysts note that forming an administration will require at least one faction to reverse its campaign commitments.
🔮 Benjamin Netanyahu has dominated Israeli politics for much of the last 30 years, but as the country goes to the polls in a pivotal election the prime minister faces a challenger who in many ways could not be more different.
🔮 In May he faced widespread international condemnation after posting a video showing him taunting activists from the Freedom Flotilla intercepted by Israel’s navy.
🔮 With around four million voters expected to cast their ballots on Tuesday, public reckoning over the 2023 Nova massacre remains front and centre.
🔮 In May he faced widespread international condemnation after posting a video showing him taunting activists from the Freedom Flotilla intercepted by Israel’s navy.
🔮 The general strike is set to follow on November 5.
🔮 The mayor of Limoges has threatened to resign along with his entire city council unless the French government commits to funding the full restoration of his city's fire-ravaged town hall.
🔮 When defence secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan would be broadcast live to the world, that bureaucratic veneer dissolved.
🔮 Since, Zelensky has publicly condemned the agreement as a “betrayal” that directly bankrolls Moscow’s war effort, and announced that Ukraine would resume striking Russian refineries.
Also by Suha Kidwai
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 29 articles by Suha Kidwai →
Holly Bancroft
6 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 "When we came, we thought there could be a problem but not that the museum would be closed," Italian social educator Selena Bertoni, 31, said in front of the Musée d'Orsay.
🔮 Terrorists could exploit artificial intelligence to target Britain with drones or biological weapons, the head of MI5 has warned.
🔮 If the full results, expected on Monday, show that the AfD has secured a majority, the party could form its first regional government in what would be a seismic moment in post-war German history.
🔮 His comments come as Iran said it would step up efforts to counter the economic problems created by US sanctions.
🔮 Witkoff said he had "heard new ideas" in Moscow and hoped a new round of US-mediated talks between Russia and Ukraine would be announced "in short order”.
Also by Holly Bancroft
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 6 articles by Holly Bancroft →

Topics

Kyiv Moscow Russia Russian Ukraine

Subjects

Ukraine GPE · 14× Kyiv GPE · 9× Russia GPE · 7× Zelensky PERSON · 5× Moscow GPE · 4× Donbas GPE · 3× Steve Witkoff PERSON · 3× Witkoff PERSON · 3× Jared Kushner PERSON · 2× Volodymyr Zelensky PERSON · 2×

Narrative

Putin has no interest in peace – and Trump is falling into his trap Steve Witkoff is the real estate guy with zero diplomatic experience who Donald Trump appointed in 2024 as his personal “peace emissary”. Jared Kushner is the president’s son-in-law, but did at least play some role in one of President Trump’s few foreign policy achievements – the Abraham Accords process that promised to deliver some stability to the Middle East during the first Trump term.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-07
🔮 Witkoff said he had "heard new ideas" in Moscow and hoped a new round of US-mediated talks between Russia and Ukraine would be announced "in short order”.

Claims (54 extracted, 1 hedged)

Volodymyr Zelensky suggests Ukraine is preparing for another winter at war with Russia despite hosting president Donald Trump’s peace envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Kyiv yesterday. uncertain
Ukraine → suggest → Kyiv
Lauding their “very substantive” conversation, Zelensky said Ukraine was ready for trilateral talks involving Russia, the US and Ukraine. asserted
Ukraine → laud → Russia
But, he added, “if the war continues into the winter, we are counting heavily on the winter package [of support], which I discussed in detail today with Steve, Jared, and our European partners. asserted
I → add → Steve
"We are counting on support for air defence and the energy sector, as well as substantial volumes of American LNG and the ability to use them,” Zelensky said after his meeting with the two US officials. asserted
Zelensky → count → officials
Trump’s son-in-law Kushner and Witkoff met with Zelensky in Kyiv on Sunday, after holding three hours of talks with Russian president Vladimir Putin on Saturday in Moscow. asserted
Kushner → meet → Moscow
Witkoff said he had "heard new ideas" in Moscow and hoped a new round of US-mediated talks between Russia and Ukraine would be announced "in short order”. asserted
round → say → order
Zelensky said ending the war will ultimately come down to solving the matter of contested territory in eastern Ukraine. asserted
ending → say → Ukraine
“The question of Donbas... I believe, is the question of this war,” he said. asserted
he → believe → war
‘Overnight we all became war correspondents’: Ukraine’s local newspapers face battle to stay alive In the weeks leading up to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the headlines in a Kyiv newspaper looked much like they would anywhere else. asserted
they → become → newspaper
There was some debate over whether Russia would actually attack its neighbour. asserted
Russia → be → neighbour
On 24 February 2022, everything changed as Russian tanks rolled across the border. asserted
tanks → change → border
Businesses closed or relocated, martial law saw hundreds of thousands of working-age men recruited for military service, and around one million people fled the country in the first week. A brave few stayed behind to keep a record of what happened as the missiles rained down. asserted
missiles → close → record
Local journalists observed and asked questions as their communities were torn apart by the war. asserted
communities → observe → war
Watch: Trump envoys arrive in Kyiv for peace talks after meeting Putin US peace envoys' visit to Ukraine sparks cautious optimism on the streets of Kyiv asserted
visit → watch → Kyiv
US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have visited Moscow several times in their roles as peace envoys. asserted
envoys → visit → envoys
But Sunday marked their first visit to Kyiv in their capacity as US negotiators. asserted
Sunday → mark → negotiators
Their visit has long been sought by Ukraine's leadership, and on the streets of Kyiv, which has been bombarded heavily in recent weeks, some residents were hopeful. asserted
residents → seek → weeks
“The issue can be solved in the blink of an eye. asserted
issue → solve → eye
We want peace. asserted
We → want → peace
I've fought myself, so I know what war is like. asserted
war → fight → what
We need peace, because there's no other way,” said military veteran Stepan Yermak. asserted
Yermak → need → peace
In previous talks, the sides have remained far apart on key issues, including the future of the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas. asserted
sides → remain → Donbas
Russia has demanded Ukraine's withdrawal from a belt of towns that it still controls there, but Kyiv has refused, reasoning that it can still hold on. asserted
it → demand → that
“The question of Donbas... I believe, is the question of this war,” Zelensky told reporters on Sunday. asserted
Zelensky → believe → Sunday
US envoy Witkoff says he ‘feels good’ about Ukraine peace talks US envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday that he felt good about peace talks in both Moscow and Kyiv. asserted
he → say → Moscow
The senior envoy from the Trump administration who held talks with Ukraine yesterday said that the US hoped to find a diplomatic solution to the war. asserted
US → hold → war
Hours earlier, president Volodymyr Zelensky said his talks with US peace negotiators were “very substantial”. asserted
talks → say → negotiators
The two sides discussed security and economic guarantees for Ukraine and also supplies of air-defence missiles and a winter support package. asserted
sides → discuss → missiles
He also hoped that trilateral talks, including Ukraine, Russia and the US would restart soon. asserted
talks → hop → Ukraine
One killed and three injured in Russia-held Sevastopol asserted
three → kill → Sevastopol
A girl was killed and three other people were wounded in a Ukraine drone attack on the Russia-held Black Sea port city of Sevastopol late on Sunday, officials said. asserted
officials → kill → Sunday
The attack was confirmed by Moscow-appointed governor Mikhail Razvozhayev on his Telegram channel. asserted
attack → confirm → channel
Zelensky says window of opportunity for peace exists before 2028 US election asserted
window → say → election
The Ukrainian president, who believes Washington will be key to any peace deal, has said a window of opportunity to make peace exists before the US begins focusing on its next presidential election in 2028. asserted
US → believe → 2028
The US envoys held several hours of talks with Ukrainian officials. asserted
envoys → hold → officials
British, French and German national security advisers, who were also in Kyiv, joined for the final hour. asserted
who → join → hour
The US-Ukrainian discussions were due to continue on Sunday evening. asserted
discussions → continue → evening
During a break, Volodymyr Zelensky said officials discussed the possibility of security and economic guarantees for Kyiv, as well as a post-war "prosperity plan." asserted
officials → say → Kyiv
"In the last 10 to 12 months, I believe we have got stronger," Mr Zelensky said, adding that the U.S. and Europe had noted this. asserted
U.S. → believe → this
US envoys meet Zelensky in Kyiv after Putin talks asserted
Putin → meet → Kyiv
…and 14 more, not listed.
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