US envoy and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner said Russia and Ukraine agreed to expand the next round of US-brokered peace talks to include European nations, as Washington works toward what he described as the largest prisoner exchange of the war. Writing on X, Kushner said the effort could potentially reunite thousands of people with their families, though he gave no details of the deal.

The remarks followed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's welcome of European presence at the next round of talks, which he said he hoped would address ceasefires and defusing the conflict. Zelensky, speaking after talks with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Kushner, said it was important the process had resumed following this week's round in Abu Dhabi, the first in nine months.S1S2

Witkoff said Vladimir Putin agreed to let European representatives join the next round, though the Russian president urged Washington to work with European allies to establish whether they wanted peace or war in Ukraine. Kushner and Witkoff travelled to Moscow to meet Putin and to Dublin to meet Zelensky.S1S2

Kushner said expanding the talks would allow discussion of broader postwar European security arrangements alongside the territorial issues between Ukraine and Russia. He said a lasting end to the fighting required credible security guarantees and reciprocal de-escalation commitments to reduce the risk of future conflict. Washington was encouraged by the progress, he said, but significant differences remained.S1S2

Kyiv and Moscow both said major differences persisted despite some progress, particularly on territory. Russia holds a fifth of Ukraine, and Kyiv refuses to give up the rest of its eastern Donbas region. Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, and Trump, who vowed to end the war on returning to the White House, has yet to reach a deal.S1S2