WarAugust 29, 2026 2:29 am • 2 min readPresident Volodymyr Zelensky at a press conference with U.S. President Donald Trump on December 28, 2025, in Florida, United States. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Aug. 28 that Ukraine had received a briefing from the U.S. side on the outcome of recent meetings in Moscow, adding that Kyiv welcomed Washington's "realistic vision" for ending Russia's war against Ukraine."Today we received information from the American side about the meetings in Moscow that took place these past days. There were a number of meetings there," Zelensky said in his evening address. "We spoke the day before, and we spoke again now with the American side.""I am grateful for the information and for the necessary tone of the conversation with Russia," he added. "We value the coordination of steps and the fact that America is advancing a quite realistic vision of what needs to be done and what must be done. Russia must end its war, and all conditions must be created for that to happen."Zelensky's remarks come days after CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Moscow for a series of meetings with Russian officials. Ukraine had earlier said it had not yet received details of the trip's contents or outcome from the U.S. side, despite an earlier promise from Washington to brief Kyiv.U.S. President Donald Trump said on Aug. 26 that Ratcliffe's visit to Moscow was "semi-routine," dismissing speculation the trip was meant to warn Russia against potential action targeting NATO countries."He's there on very sort of semi-routine (business) — I hate to disappoint people," Trump said.Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the same day that Ratcliffe did not meet directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was instead briefed on the details of the talks."There were contacts with the intelligence services," Peskov told reporters, calling the discussions a "positive development" between U.S. and Russian intelligence agencies.Ratcliffe's trip was first reported after a U.S. military C-17A Globemaster III aircraft was spotted at a Moscow airport, fueling speculation over the purpose of the visit. Ukraine was asked to refrain from striking Moscow and St. Petersburg while Ratcliffe was in Russia, according to a source familiar with the matter.