Russian President Vladimir Putin told visiting U.S. envoys in Moscow on Thursday that positive progress had been made with Ukraine to solve humanitarian issues, even as fighting continued in the region.
During a meeting with U.S. presidential special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who is U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Putin welcomed an agreement on a "large-scale" prisoner exchange reached by Russia and Ukraine at the latest trilateral talks among Russia, the United States and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi earlier this week.
Noting this progress, Putin proposed organizing a humanitarian mission to evacuate civilians from Kostiantynivka in eastern Ukraine, drawing on previous experience in Oleshky.
Located in the Donetsk region, Kostiantynivka had served as a key Ukrainian military stronghold. Russia claimed to have taken full control of the city in July. Hundreds of civilians remained in the city and called for their evacuation.
Putin also said Moscow has never opposed dialogue with Europe, but European countries have severed contacts with Russia. He expressed hope that Washington would work with European countries to promote peace, and stressed the need for a lasting settlement of the Ukraine conflict.
Putin also reiterated Moscow's opposition to the deployment of foreign troops in Ukraine as part of any peacekeeping force, warning that such forces would pose a threat to Russia's national security and become legitimate military targets.
Witkoff said he hoped that planning for the next round of trilateral talks could begin immediately after the meeting with Putin.
Kushner said that the U.S. had noted a desire from European countries to participate in negotiations to end the conflict.
Washington has already begun discussions with European allies about a security architecture on the continent, Kushner said.
The latest round of trilateral talks took place in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday and Wednesday, marking the first meeting among the three countries since February. Although progress was reported on the prisoner exchange, no agreement was announced on a ceasefire, territorial disputes or long-term security guarantees.
Putin tells U.S. envoys positive progress made with Ukraine on humanitarian issues
The newly upgraded Huanggang Port connecting the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Chinese mainland recorded more than 3.44 million inbound and outbound passenger trips in its first month of operation, averaging 114,000 per day -- a 120 percent year-on-year increase, as Shenzhen prepares for the 2026 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Week.
With the event approaching, all 25 APEC-dedicated channels across Shenzhen's ports in south China have been opened to facilitate the entry of participants and media from APEC member economies.
The upgraded Huanggang Port is operating smoothly, with its single-day passenger flow recently hitting the highest level since 2019.
At Huanggang Port, travelers now only need to queue once and present their documents once to complete immigration procedures for both sides.
"Usually it takes about one minute to go through customs on both sides. My fastest time was 36 seconds," said a passenger from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Huanggang Port is the only 24-hour land passenger port between Shenzhen and Hong Kong.
Since November, Shenzhen's ports have opened a total of 25 APEC-dedicated inspection channels. Among them, the Huanggang Border Inspection Station has processed 14,000 trips of foreign nationals from APEC economies, a month-on-month increase of 102 percent. "Facing the continuous high passenger flow, the Huanggang Border Inspection Station has strengthened early warning and analysis, continuously enhanced communication and coordination with the Hong Kong side, cross-border operating units, and foreign affairs departments, and reinforced our multilingual service team to ensure efficient and smooth customs clearance," said Yang Huan, staff member at the Huanggang Border Inspection Station.
As China's largest single port building and the world's largest land port complex, the facility covers a total floor area of 689,700 square meters, featuring four underground and five above-ground floors.
The original Huanggang Port, which opened in 1989, was China's first large-scale land port with 24-hour clearance. Reconstruction on the original site began in 2019 to meet the surging demand for cross-border passage.
Upgraded Huanggang Port handles over 3.44 million passenger trips in first month
