By Billy Stockwell

(CNN) — Talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff have ended in Moscow, after the trio discussed the latest round of Ukraine negotiations in Abu Dhabi which ended without a breakthrough.

“I think progress was made. I think it was made earlier today,” Witkoff told CNN just before departing Moscow. “People didn’t think that we were going to restart trilateral. We’ve restarted it. We’ve set a new meeting.”

“This is what President Trump wants to see,” he added.

Witkoff also confirmed that European representatives would join the next talks about the Ukraine conflict. “They’re our partners, and it’s important for them to be involved,” he said.

“I think overall, (we’ve had) very fulsome and detailed discussions on all the topics, which I think will inform hopefully the next multilateral discussions,” Kushner added.

The US envoys are now expected to travel to Dublin, Ireland, where they will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and debrief him on the Moscow meeting.

The trips follow two days of talks in the UAE capital between Russian, Ukrainian and American negotiators – the first of their kind since February – which Kyiv said made progress on some issues, but did not result in a clear resolution.

They also come as Zelensky warns of reoccurring disruptions to Starshield – a military-grade version of Elon Musk’s Starlink service that is critical to Ukraine’s military operations. He said Thursday the service had faced “significant disruptions” in recent days, hampering Kyiv’s ability to shoot down Russian drones.

Zelensky said Kyiv was “trying to establish all the circumstances with the American side.”

At the meeting with Putin on Thursday, Witkoff expressed his desire for European nations to join the next round of talks.

“The Europeans have a desire for this war to really be the end and for there to be a long peace after,” Kushner, who is US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, added.

In response, Putin said Russia had “never objected (to) pursuing dialogue” with Europe. “You want this peace to be a durable and lasting one, and I confirm that I subscribe to that, and I’d say more. I want this peace to be eternal, for good,” the Russian leader said.

Asked if Russia was suspicious of Europe’s intentions, Russian presidential special envoy Kirill Dmitriev told CNN Thursday that there is a “growing consensus” that working on European security is an important step.

“I think working on European security is definitely a great, important step for Europe. And frankly, people who care about Europeans and their lives, of course, want European security to be strong,” he told CNN.

While Ukraine has long argued that Europe should be at the main negotiating table, Moscow has so far appeared to resist such efforts.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov criticized the presence of European officials in the UAE city earlier this week, saying their involvement was not a “promising approach.”

Meanwhile, when asked if there had been any contact between the Russians and any EU representatives in Abu Dhabi, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday, “No such contacts were planned, and none took place.”

Kushner – who acts as one of the country’s top diplomats despite holding no official role within the Trump administration – and Witkoff are also expected to travel to Dublin to meet with Zelensky and discuss ideas from the Abu Dhabi talks.

Before the planned meeting with the US envoys, Zelensky joined other world leaders in Dublin on Thursday for the European Political Community summit, where the recent trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi were discussed, as well as additional sanctions on Russia.

Kyiv faces drone attack

Despite the flurry of diplomacy, the latest push for peace has not afforded Ukraine respite from the daily barrage of Russian attacks.

Moscow launched a ballistic missile and drone attack on Ukraine overnight into Thursday, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. In Kyiv, at least one person was killed, and several others injured amid a Russian drone attack Thursday morning, local authorities said.

Speaking about the latest Starshield disruptions, Zelensky said Thursday: “These are not random errors but systematic speed restrictions. For us, this primarily means a significant complication in intercepting Russian jet-powered drones.”

“Unfortunately, this is helping the Russians kill more Ukrainians and carry out more accurate strikes against Ukraine,” he posted on X.

CNN has reached out to the White House, the Pentagon and SpaceX, the company which owns Starlink, for comment.

In October too, Ukraine said speed limits were imposed on Starshield satellite terminals, as the relationship between Kyiv and Washington deteriorated. Trump denied approving that decision, while Musk said the Trump administration was behind the restrictions.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

The-CNN-Wire
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