Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are due to travel to Moscow and Kyiv this weekend in a renewed attempt to revive negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.
The pair are expected to meet Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Saturday, September 5, before travelling to Kyiv for talks with Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday. It would be their first visit to the Ukrainian capital since taking on their roles in the Trump administration.
The planned diplomacy comes amid a sharp escalation in attacks. A Russian drone struck the headquarters of Ukraine’s security service in central Kyiv on Friday, injuring 12 people, according to Ukrainian authorities.
Mr Zelensky said Ukraine would refrain from air strikes during the American delegation’s visit and called on Moscow to observe a reciprocal pause. He said Kyiv was concerned about ensuring the envoys’ safe passage, rather than protecting Russia from attack.
“This is very important,” Mr Zelensky wrote on social media, adding that American involvement in the negotiations remained significant and that Ukraine was ready for “proper and substantive” discussions.
The arrangements for the trip have reportedly been under discussion for weeks, with Washington seeking a temporary halt to Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow and Russian energy infrastructure while Mr Witkoff and Mr Kushner are in Russia. Kyiv has also been pressing for Russia to suspend missile strikes on the Ukrainian capital.
It remains unclear whether the envoys will take new proposals to the two presidents or seek to narrow the differences that have stalled the talks. The most difficult issue is expected to be the future of the Donbas, large parts of which are occupied by Russian forces and which Moscow wants Ukraine to surrender.
Mr Witkoff has met Mr Putin more than six times and has travelled to Moscow repeatedly with Mr Kushner. Neither man, however, has previously visited Kyiv, despite several invitations from the Ukrainian government.
The CIA director, John Ratcliffe, held a brief meeting with senior Russian intelligence officials in Moscow about ten days ago in a separate effort to assess whether the Kremlin was prepared to return to serious diplomacy.
Washington’s latest initiative comes as the conflict approaches its fifth year and both sides face mounting pressure. Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries and other energy targets have caused fuel shortages in parts of Russia, while Russian missile and drone attacks have damaged Ukraine’s energy system and stretched its air-defence capabilities.
There is no guarantee that the meetings will produce a breakthrough. Previous rounds of US-mediated talks have made little progress, and Ukrainian officials remain doubtful that Mr Putin is ready to soften his territorial demands, with some warning that Moscow may seek to intensify attacks through the winter before making further concessions.
