Russia and the US failed to bridge their differences over a potential Ukraine peace deal during a five-hour meeting in the Kremlin between President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, the Kremlin said on Wednesday.
Putin's foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said, "We are no closer to resolving the crisis in Ukraine, and there is much work to be done."
The meeting, one of the major US-Russia exchanges since the war began, came amid Moscow's fresh warnings to Europeans as Kyiv and Europe grew more concerned about the direction of the talks.
The Kremlin said the talks, which included foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov and investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev, extended well past midnight.
Yuri Ushakov said that talks with the US on ending war in Ukraine were productive but still far from a breakthrough, with a settlement nowhere in sight.
"The discussion was confidential," Ushakov said. "We agreed not to disclose the substance of the negotiations."
Ushakov said the Russia-US meeting covered several possible tracks for resolving the conflict, but no real progress was made on the core sticking points
He added that no compromise has been reached on territorial issues, even though the American side brought new proposals.
He said Putin also asked Witkoff to relay "a number of important political signals" directly to President Donald Trump, but he declined to say what they were.
"They will present their findings to Trump and contact us," Ushakov said, adding that communication between the two governments "continues".
In Washington, Trump told a cabinet meeting that the envoys were in Moscow "to see if we can get it settled," describing the situation as "not easy".
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has been revising the original American peace draft to accommodate Ukrainian and European objections, said Witkoff’s mission was aimed squarely at finding a path to end the conflict.
Just hours before meeting the US delegation, Putin sharply criticised Europe’s role in the peace process, accusing EU governments of putting forward proposals "aimed at only one thing: to block the entire peace process altogether".
"They are on the side of war," he said. He argued that European suggestions included "demands that are absolutely unacceptable to Russia," and claimed Europe was attempting to undermine Trump’s efforts.
Putin then issued a stark warning to Nato states: Russia would not start a war with Europe, he said, but if Europe initiated one, "it would end so swiftly that there would be no one left for Russia to negotiate with".
The Russian president also threatened to cut Ukraine’s access to the sea in retaliation for drone attacks on tankers from Russia’s so-called "shadow fleet". Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the comments showed Putin remained uninterested in genuine peace.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking in Dublin on Tuesday, said Kyiv would judge the process based on the outcome of the Moscow talks.
"There will be no easy solutions. It is important that everything is fair and open, so that there are no games behind Ukraine's back," Zelenskyy said. He added that his government expected rapid updates from the US delegation in Moscow.
According to news agency Reuters, nearly four years into the war, Russia controls more than 19 per cent of Ukrainian territory -- about 115,600 square kilometres -- an increase of only one percentage point from two years ago. Despite advances in 2025, Russia has not achieved its broader military objectives and continues to face entrenched resistance from a smaller neighbour supported by the US and Europe.
