Zelensky Says He Expects War to Continue Into Winter After Talks With US Envoys

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he expects the war with Russia to continue into the winter, following talks with Donald Trump’s top envoys in Kyiv.
The discussions finished without an announcement of a major breakthrough, after Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner travelled to Ukraine for the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion. The previous day, the pair had held talks with Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Witkoff said he was “encouraged” by what he called “substantive” and important talks in Kyiv.
Zelensky stressed that he wanted a just peace with no opportunity for renewed aggression by Russia.
Following rounds of talks on Sunday, which lasted several hours behind closed doors, Zelensky told reporters they had agreed officials from Ukraine, Europe and America would meet in the near future to continue discussions. He also called for a trilateral meeting with Russia and the US.
“We’re confident there’ll be a good resolution here,” Witkoff said, adding the negotiators had “made a lot of progress in Moscow”, referring to the pair’s discussions on Saturday.
When asked about the talks in Moscow, Kushner said the US team “went through a lot of the ideas that hadn’t worked to date” and “tried to think about” what elements are needed for “durable peace”.
“It was a very good dialogue, he [Putin] asked a lot of questions, we asked a lot of questions.”
Witkoff said the envoys had met the Russian leader prior to travelling to Kyiv as they “needed to hear where he stood”.
Zelensky emphasised that should the war continue into the winter – “which is what it looks like for now” – Ukraine would need air defence and energy support.
Ukraine has relied on American-made Patriot interceptors to combat Russian ballistic missiles, but the US has used many of its stockpiles during its war with Iran.
In past years, Russia has focused its attacks on energy infrastructure during winter months.
Zelensky said Ukraine needs to develop its own anti-ballistic system, but added the Americans will be increasing production next year, which they are “counting on”.