US envoys meet Zelensky after Putin signals no compromise

US envoys met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Thursday in Dublin to brief him on talks with Vladimir Putin, after the Russian leader indicated Moscow will not compromise on its hardline demands to end almost five years of war.

US envoys meet Zelensky after Putin signals no compromisePutin said he would not water down his demands to control parts of Ukraine that Russia claims to have annexed and ruled out agreeing to foreign peacekeeping troops in Ukraine a deployment that he said would be a "continuation of war".

Washington's envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, were in Moscow after two days of talks in Abu Dhabi on ending Europe's worst conflict since World War II. Putin's comments appeared to douse hopes that a peace deal could be within reach, after Zelensky said there was a "window of opportunity" to achieve "a result" before 2027.

The Americans, meanwhile, urged Putin to allow European representatives to sit at the table for the next round of talks. Moscow has pushed to reframe the discussions on the war as part of a wider discussion about European security.

But Kyiv and European leaders have urged against a new "Yalta" a reference to the WWII-era deal to carve the continent into spheres of influence after the war and said Russia must stop hostilities first. Witkoff and Kushner left the Kremlin on Thursday afternoon and headed to Dublin for follow-up talks with Zelensky, who was attending a European summit there.

In the Irish capital, Zelensky said fresh restrictions had been placed on the Starshield satellite internet service, key to Ukraine's frontline communications. The limits hamper Kyiv's ability to intercept Russia's jet-drones, meaning "more of our people are killed", Zelensky said.

Usually held behind closed doors, the Kremlin chose to televise a lengthy opening exchange between Putin and the US envoys. The Russian leader rejected talk of a possible territorial settlement involving "grey" or demilitarised zones between Ukrainian and Russian positions.

"For us, there is only one line of demarcation: the state border. Because then it will be clear and obvious: here are we, and here are you," he said. Russia has seized swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine since launching its full-scale offensive in 2022, in addition to Crimea, which it annexed in 2014, and territory that was under the control of Russian-backed separatists.

Moscow has formally annexed four regions of Ukraine Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk and Zaporizhzhia despite not having full control over them. The annexations are rejected by Kyiv and the West as illegal and not recognised by the international community.

Advances by Russia's army have slowed throughout 2026 and hundreds of thousands have been killed in the conflict. Millions more people have been forced to flee their homes. Putin proposed organising what he called a "humanitarian mission" to the city of Kostyantynivka, where he said some 400-500 civilians still lived.