Zelensky calls for “peace with dignity” in conversation with Trump’s envoys

On July 22, Volodymyr Zelensky held a phone call with the special envoys of U.S. President Donald Trump — Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

Zelensky described the conversation as “a good and important discussion about how to intensify diplomacy” and bring peace closer.

The Ukrainian president stressed that Ukraine is ready for “peace with dignity” and said that the Ukrainian and American teams would remain in close contact to work through the outcomes of the talks. Zelensky thanked Witkoff and Kushner for their efforts in the name of peace and also expressed gratitude to Trump and the American people for their support.

Axios correspondent Barak Ravid was the first to report the call, citing informed sources. According to him, the parties discussed ideas for resuming “diplomatic efforts to end the war.” U.S. involvement in Ukrainian-Russian negotiations has effectively reached a deadlock since the start of the American-Israeli military operation against Iran, and a planned visit by Trump’s envoys to Kyiv never took place.

Earlier the same day, Zelensky met in person with U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker and American General Curtis Buzzard, who heads the NATO mission in Ukraine. The topics of the meeting included deliveries of Patriot missiles and a forthcoming U.S.-Ukrainian drone agreement.

“We had a good conversation: primarily about how to protect Ukrainian skies with additional deliveries of Patriot interceptors through PURL,” Zelensky said.

PURL is a NATO initiative under which allies purchase American military equipment for Ukraine. The negotiations build on a promise Trump made at the NATO summit in Ankara in early July to provide Ukraine with licenses to produce Patriot interceptors.

In parallel, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced that on July 23 he would meet with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Manila to discuss the Ukrainian issue.