Zelensky welcomes US bringing Europe into Russia-Ukraine peace talks

What the report says

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has welcomed a US commitment to bring European Union representatives into the next round of talks aimed at ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to BBC World News. The development came after US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff met Zelensky in Dublin on Thursday evening, following earlier discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow the same day.

BBC said Zelensky argued that European involvement makes sense because Ukraine wants to join the EU in the future and needs Europe to have a voice in any settlement. Kushner said the US had been working closely with Europeans and had stressed to Putin the importance of having them at the table. Russia has previously resisted a larger European role, while EU officials have said the bloc must be central to any post-war security arrangement on the continent.

The shuttle diplomacy followed talks in Abu Dhabi last week that did not produce a breakthrough. However, the two sides did agree to another prisoner exchange, which the BBC described as the largest since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, although details were not provided. The reporting also comes amid broader concerns in Europe about security, the future of US support, and the war’s wider impact on the region.