Talks with U.S. envoys "very substantive": Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that talks with U.S. envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, were "very substantive."

The two sides discussed resuming negotiations on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, security and economic guarantees for Ukraine, and a winter support package, Zelensky told reporters at a briefing following the talks.

"We are very much counting on both air defense and energy support, and we are counting on a serious volume and possibilities of using American LNG," Zelensky said.

Representatives from European countries including Britain, France and Germany joined their discussions at the third round, Zelensky said, adding the three sides had agreed to meet in the future to continue negotiations.

The talks were not only about security guarantees, but also economic guarantees for Ukraine to recover and rebuild, Zelensky said, stressing that Ukraine's army "must be strong."

The Ukrainian president emphasized that territorial issues remain on the table and that decisions of such complexity must ultimately be resolved directly at the level of national leaders.

He also stressed that efforts were underway to revive trilateral talks between Ukraine, the United States and Russia aimed at ending the conflict.

For his part, Witkoff told reporters that he and Kushner had made "significant progress" in Moscow and hoped that the trilateral talks would be announced soon.

Kushner stated that there is no guarantee that the Russia-Ukraine conflict will end by winter, but efforts will continue to push forward negotiations.

Witkoff and Kushner traveled to Kiev earlier Sunday for their first visit to Ukraine after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Delegations from Ukraine, the United States and Russia previously held two rounds of talks in Abu Dhabi on Jan 23-24 and Feb 4-5, followed by another round in Geneva on Feb 17-18, in an effort to find a path toward ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The trilateral negotiations subsequently stalled and have remained suspended.

Talks with U.S. envoys "very substantive": Zelensky

The navy of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Thursday that it had struck four "violating" ships in the Persian Gulf in recent hours, while three other "offending" vessels caught fire after hitting naval mines west of the Strait of Hormuz Wednesday night.

The four targeted ships, which had crossed an "illegal" route in the strait, were detected and hit in the northern central Gulf while engaged in a ship-to-ship transfer of oil cargoes, the navy said in a statement released by the IRGC's official news outlet Sepah News.

All four vessels were targeted simultaneously and set on fire, it said, adding that maritime companies had been warned against crossing "illegal" routes in the Strait of Hormuz.

The navy said the three vessels that struck naval mines the previous night caught fire and were forced to stop.

It added that the U.S. government's insistence on inciting ships to pass through the "illegal and mined" route had led to a daily increase in maritime incidents, warning that if the U.S. military continues to do this, the confrontation could extend to its bases in the region.

The navy said its forces still manage and control the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran tightened its grip on the strait on Feb 28, barring safe passage of vessels belonging to or affiliated with Israel and the United States following their joint strikes on Iranian territory.

Iranian military says seven "violating" vessels caught fire in waters around Hormuz Strait