US envoy Witkoff will meet Putin in Moscow while Zelenskyy tours Europe as peace efforts press ahead

AP U S special envoy Steve Witkoff was due to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday taking to the Kremlin an embryonic peace plan that Washington hopes can bring about an end to the nearly four-year war in Ukraine Coinciding with Witkoff s trip Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy went to Ireland continuing his visits to European countries that have helped sustain his country s fight against Russia s invasion After months of frustration in his efforts to stop the fighting U S President Donald Trump is deploying leaders to get traction for his peace proposals Jared Kushner Trump s son-in-law will join the meeting between Putin and Witkoff Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov narrated reporters He revealed that the talks would take as long as needed and will involve only Witkoff Kushner and an interpreter from the U S side So far the talks have followed parallel lines with U S Secretary of State Marco Rubio sitting down with Ukrainian authorities and now Witkoff heading to Moscow Zelenskyy commented that he met Tuesday with the Ukrainian delegation that returned from the latest round of negotiations with the U S representatives in Florida Rubio stated that those talks made progress but added that there s more work to be done Zelenskyy revealed that the Florida talks took as their cue a document that both sides drafted at an earlier meeting in Geneva The Ukrainian leader stated that document was now finalized although he didn t explain what that meant Ukrainian diplomats are working to ensure that European partners are substantially involved in decision-making Zelenskyy mentioned on the Telegram messaging app and warned about what he disclosed were Russian disinformation campaigns aimed at steering the negotiations Ukrainian intelligence will provide partners with the information we have about Russia s true intentions and its attempts to use diplomatic efforts as cover to ease sanctions and block significant collective European decisions Zelenskyy stated Zelenskyy was meeting with political leaders and lawmakers in Dublin on his first official visit Ireland is officially neutral and isn t a member of NATO but has sent nonlethal military encouragement to Ukraine More than Ukrainians have moved to Ireland since Russia launched its war on Feb Though this week s consultations could move the process forward limited details have become masses It remains unclear how envoys are going to bridge the gap between the two sides on such basic differences as who keeps what territory European authorities say the road to peace will be long European leaders who fear Russia s future territorial ambitions and are trying to figure out how they can fund Ukraine s fight beyond this year are trying to make their voices heard after being largely sidelined by Washington They are also working on future assurance guarantees for Ukraine French President Emmanuel Macron noted Monday that he and Zelenskyy who was on a trip to Paris spoke by phone with Witkoff They also spoke to leaders of eight other European countries as well as top European Union bureaucrats and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte Macron declared that the coming days will see crucial discussions between U S administrators and Western partners Zelenskyy s visit to Paris followed Sunday s meeting between Ukrainian and U S personnel which Rubio described as productive Diplomats face a hard time trying to bridge Russian and Ukrainian differences and persuading them to strike compromises The key obstacles over whether Kyiv should cede land to Moscow and how to ensure Ukraine s future shield appear unresolved Zelenskyy is under severe pressure in one of the darkest periods of the war for his country As well as managing diplomatic pressure he must find money to keep Ukraine afloat address a corruption shame that has reached the top echelons of his regime and keep Russia at bay on the battlefield The Kremlin late Monday claimed that Russian forces have captured the key Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk in the eastern Donetsk region Zelenskyy however reported in Paris that fighting was still ongoing in Pokrovsk on Monday