The National Security Advisors (NSA) of the UK, France and Germany made sure they were in Kiev, too, as Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in the Ukrainian capital by train from Poland today to meet Volodymyr Zelensky after their talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow yesterday. Leading the so-called E3 intervention was British NSA Jonathan Powell, chief of staff in 1997-2007 to then-PM and “liberal imperialist” Tony Blair. Powell has lately supervised London’s Ukraine portfolio. The E3 representatives are evidently attempting a replay of the [UK/EU sabotage]( https://eir.news/2025/08/news/zelensky-and-europeans-meet-with-trump-on-ukraine/) of the understandings on steps toward a Ukraine settlement reached by Putin and President Donald Trump in Anchorage last year. At the most recent prior Russia-Ukraine-USA talks, in February 2026, Powell also turned up at the Geneva venue, evidently to crash the diplomatic proceedings.
In a series of posts on X, Zelensky clarified the format, explaining that consultations would proceed across several distinct stages rather than a single meeting. First he met with Witkoff and Kushner, then a “next round of talks: Ukraine, the United States, and the E3 countries—France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.” He added, “Several important sessions [are planned).”
Scant content or results were reported from [the first meeting](https://kyivindependent.com/us-envoys-witkoff-kushner-arrive-in-ukraine/. Zelensky’s remarks after the one that included the Europeans emphasized the further military support he is demanding.
Seated next to Witkoff and Kushner for an outdoor press conference after the talks, Zelensky showed no sign of readiness to compromise, but willingness to condemn the Ukrainian population to a brutal winter. “If the war continues—and we expect the war will continue—we are counting heavily on the winter aid package ... on support for both air defense and the energy sector,” he said. He looks forward to “substantial volumes of American LNG and the ability to use them.”
Witkoff and Kushner called the meeting positive, with Witkoff suggesting that soon Russia-Ukraine-USA talks could resume. Kushner added that he prefers that “trilateral format” as being “productive” (the one broken off after the February Geneva meeting, as Washington became wrapped up in its war on Iran). Zelensky, however, stressed the need for “Ukraine, Europe, and the U.S.” to meet again in the near future. He also called for implementation of the extreme “Lindsay Graham” sanctions against anyone doing business with Russia: “We are counting on these sanctions. The American side did not raise this issue today, and we did not discuss it with them,” but Zelensky said Sen. Richard Blumenthal has told him the package may pass (it has passed the Senate, but not the House).
President Trump is scheduled to talk to both Zelensky and Putin, separately, tomorrow. A White House official told journalists that the two parties “discussed substantive plans for next steps, which will be announced in the coming weeks,” without disclosing further details.
