US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday, according to Russian media, as President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Kyiv regime’s military is again facing systematic restrictions to SpaceX’s Starshield service, the military-grade Starlink variant used on the front line. The envoys were welcomed by Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev before meeting Putin and three senior advisers. The Moscow trip followed US-led talks in Abu Dhabi that included Russia and Ukraine, and Kushner and Witkoff are expected to travel to Dublin to meet Zelensky.
Key Takeaways: Kushner and Witkoff met Putin in Moscow after US-led talks in Abu Dhabi that included Russia and Ukraine. Zelensky says Starshield restrictions have lasted several days and are hampering Ukraine’s ability to intercept Russian jet-powered drones. Putin proposed a five-day ceasefire for Kostyantynivka after a previous Kherson-area truce allowed hundreds of civilians to evacuate Oleshky.
The Starshield issue is not new. A similar connectivity disruption affected the front line in late October and lasted about a week before it was fixed. It remained unclear who ordered the temporary restrictions at the time, with US officials and SpaceX offering differing explanations. Zelensky, speaking at a European Political Community summit in Dublin, claimed Ukraine was trying to clarify the matter with the American side, and said that if decisions in America treat Ukrainian territory as if it is not Ukrainian, then this signals where things are going. He did not elaborate.
According to Zelensky, the current disruption has been ongoing for several days and is ‘helping the Russians kill more Ukrainians and carry out more accurate strikes against Ukraine.’ The remarks came as the US regime’s envoys met Putin. In remarks broadcast by Russian media, Putin asked the envoys to convey his gratitude to US First Lady Melania Trump for her involvement in last month’s Kherson region ceasefire, which allowed the evacuation of hundreds of civilians from Oleshky, in a Russian-controlled part of the Kherson region. Putin then proposed a similar five-day ceasefire for Kostyantynivka, a contested front-line city in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region. The Kyiv regime is unlikely to accept: it disputes that Russia fully holds the town, and a truce might allow Moscow’s troops to make a final push to seize it.
The separate in-person meetings with the Russian and Ukrainian presidents were announced on Wednesday after two days of talks framed around the postwar security architecture of Europe. Nearly five years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian officials have shown no indication of softening their position on sovereign Ukrainian territory or on Western commitments to protect Kyiv from future attacks. Putin again said that the presence of foreign troops in Ukraine was ‘unacceptable’ to Russia, and said Russia would like the Americans to engage with Europe ‘so that the Europeans can decide what they truly want: peace or war.’
During the first years of the war, European representatives cut communications with the Kremlin and refused direct engagement with Russia. Recently, many have grown concerned about the US regime’s commitment to European security and its softening toward the Kremlin, and have been pushing for a seat at the negotiating table. The Abu Dhabi talks were led by the Americans and included only Russia and Ukraine. Kushner said he and Witkoff would ask Putin to ‘give his blessing’ to inviting European representatives into future discussions, particularly on questions still under discussion. The next steps remain uncertain, with the Dublin meeting and any follow-up talks likely to shape whether broader European participation becomes possible.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk