US seeking to revive Russia-Ukraine ceasefire talks

SaveSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkThe US is seeking to revive talks between Moscow and Ukraine (File: Sergei Kholodilin/BelTA Pool Photo via AP)By Al Jazeera Staff and ReutersPublished On 25 Sep 202625 Sep 2026The United States is working to arrange a new round of talks in a bid to end the four-and-a-half-year Russia-Ukraine war.Kyiv and Moscow both confirmed the plan to relaunch trilateral talks on Friday. The move follows negotiations that started earlier this year before the US efforts to broker an end to hostilities petered out amid Washington’s war on Iran.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Zelenskyy says Ukraine sent two North Korean POWs to South Korealist 2 of 4Russian attacks kill eight people across Ukraine as US steps up diplomacylist 3 of 4Trump invites Putin to Miami G20: Why that matterslist 4 of 4Ukrainian man kills one, wounds four in Poland abbey knife attackend of listThe United Arab Emirates is mooted as the host of the new talks.“The American side has proposed meeting at a technical level in a three-way ⁠⁠format,” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters. “We are awaiting a ⁠⁠proposal from the United States ⁠⁠regarding the date ⁠⁠and the US has suggested the Emirates as ‌‌a possible location.”Later, the Kremlin confirmed that a trilateral meeting could be soon, although spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there were no details to ⁠⁠add currently.President Donald Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited Russia and Ukraine earlier this month in a bid to jump-start the bid to secure a ceasefire.The US stance has previously been criticised for favouring Russia’s narrative, with Moscow insisting that Ukraine cede territory that Russia has illegally occupied, demilitarise and drop ambitions to join NATO.Russia’s presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev reportedly met with Witkoff ‌‌and ‌‌Kushner in the US on September 24. Peskov said those talks were about potential economic cooperation. Zelenskyy said that Trump told him that Ukraine will be granted permission to produce advanced Patriot air defence missiles.Kyiv desperately needs additional air defences to counter Russia’s increasing drone and missile attacks, but Trump has delayed approval.Should a licence be issued, it would be more than a year before Kyiv could put any new Patriot systems into service, leaving Zelenskyy, in the US to attend the United Nations General Assembly, to continue his pleas for additional support from allies.“In recent days, during our meetings, Ukraine has openly informed our partners: Russia will only escalate as winter approaches unless there is pressure,” Zelenskyy wrote on X on Friday. “For diplomacy to work, US sanctions must be implemented and European sanctions must be strengthened.”Kyiv is also talking with European Union representatives about the need to accelerate budget support for the military, warning that Ukraine risks running out of missiles and drones early next year.Overnight barragesBoth Moscow and Kyiv continue to launch nightly barrages against one another.Overnight attacks struck a 16-floor building in Kyiv’s central Pechersk district, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring at least seven other people.In the southern Odesa region, Governor Oleh Kiper said one person was killed ‌‌and another injured in a series of “massive” Russian strikes on a residential area and logistics premises ‌‌of a ‌‌postal operator.Russia said its air defence ⁠⁠units destroyed about ⁠⁠50 drones over the Rostov region overnight and a drone attack damaged ⁠⁠the Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery, forcing it to suspend operations.Ukraine recently struck two other major ‌‌Russian ‌‌oil refineries in Moscow and Yaroslavl. Zelenskyy asserted that refineries ⁠⁠in Bashkortostan and ⁠⁠the Samara ⁠⁠region had also been hit in the past 24-hours.The Ukrainian leader also reported unspecified strikes in the Black Sea. He added that he has held talks with India, Turkiye, ⁠⁠Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries concerning efforts to unblock shipping in the Black Sea, where Russia has targeted cargo vessels.