Zelensky Expects War To Continue Through Winter, As Witkoff-Kushner Deliver ‘Upbeat Assessment’ From Putin Meeting

Despite Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner having delivered ‘upbeat assessments’ (per AFP) to Kiev after meeting with President Putin in Moscow over the weekend, Ukrainian President Zelensky has told his citizenry to prepare for a brutal winter, as the war is set to continue through this period.

A senior Ukrainian presidential official said Sunday that the US team brought new, “more effective” proposals for ending the war. ”It’s not the same as it was before. This one now is more effective. They’re still talking. This is actually the most important part,” the official said to AFP.

This marked Witkoff-Kushner’s first trip to Kiev – as they’ve been playing point for Trump efforts at negotiating the end to conflicts from the Middle East to Gaza to Eastern Europe. However, many have pointed out they are un-elected, not formally appointed, and hold no official government offices – and do not have prior track records as high level diplomats. 

Zelensky after being briefed on US talks with Putin remarked: “We very much hope that we will be able to reach agreements with our American partners, and we are counting on the support of our European partners if the war continues in winter — and this is how it appears at the moment.”

This comes after the Kremlin reportedly told Americans Saturday it was feeling “confident” its forces would advance more, deeper into Ukraine from eastern territories that Russia already holds.

Kushner said: “Hopefully this trip has come out with some new ways to advance forward. I think we’ve learned a lot from the trip.”

It’s unlikely that President Putin takes these two men very seriously, especially Trump’s son-in-law, who seems to hold this top envoy position for no other reason than being family. And of course Witkoff is a real estate mogul. Both Kushner and Witkoff are Jewish – which has some bearing on failed Iran negotiations, as well as prior Gaza peace efforts – given Tehran doesn’t trust them, but sees them as having divided loyalties. The Kushner family has for decades been close personal friends of Netanyahu, with the Israeli leader having on occasions stayed at their private residence.

Hundreds of thousands dead in the Ukraine proxy war, which holds the potential to escalate into nuclear confrontation with NATO… and the guys that Trump sends sit and ruminate about the “incredible stories and memories” they will share in retirement:

Witkoff to Putin:

President Putin, thank you so much for having us.

We were sitting outside just now, me, Jared, Kirill, Yuri, and we were talking about, when we retire, we will have all these incredible stories and memories, and yours will be right at the top of it all. pic.twitter.com/w8HoGg5o54

— MAKS 26 (@Maks_NAFO_FELLA) September 5, 2026

Trump had promised to end the Ukraine war from his very opening days in office, which of course proved absurdly unrealistic. But he did energize the MAGA base by placing this as a top priority.

However, the reality remains: the US has continued providing deep intelligence assistance to Ukraine, it has continued to approve missile and other weapons transfers to Kiev, and has given a greenlight for Ukraine to send long-range drones against sensitive assets on Russian soil. Halting these things could be an actual catalyst toward peace settlement, but so far by all appearances these US support programs are going strong.

T-shirts…

Thanks for the $400 Billion Steve and Jared. Check it out, we printed some t-shirts with whatever money we have left. https://t.co/dujLcZdiwW

— Alex Christoforou (@AXChristoforou) September 7, 2026