Two of President Donald Trump’s senior envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, have arrived in Moscow as part of a weekend diplomatic mission aimed at advancing peace negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, according to Russian media reports.
The pair were scheduled to hold discussions in the Russian capital on Saturday before traveling to Kyiv on Sunday to meet with Ukrainian leadership. President Trump informed reporters on Friday that the envoys were carrying a “proposal to end the war,” following previous attempts by the United States and its allies that have yet to produce a breakthrough.
News outlet Axios reported that the American representatives would conduct separate meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. While neither Washington nor the Kremlin officially confirmed the arrival, flight tracking data indicated a US government aircraft landed at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport after a journey from Helsinki, Finland.
Although Witkoff and Kushner have visited Moscow multiple times since Trump’s return to office, this weekend marks their first trip to Kyiv. Ukrainian delegations have previously attended negotiations in the United States over the past 18 months.
Zelensky stated on Saturday that Russia had launched “demonstrative” airstrikes on airports in Kyiv and Boryspil overnight. He suggested these attacks were a response to preparations for the arrival of a US aircraft carrying the envoys.
The Ukrainian leader also highlighted that his country’s airspace has remained closed since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022. On Friday, Zelensky offered guarantees for the safety of Russian airspace during the envoys’ visit and called on Moscow to provide reciprocal assurances. He further reported that a Russian strike on a civilian building in the Dnipro region killed four people and injured five others.
The diplomatic effort follows a recent visit by CIA Director John Ratcliffe to Moscow, described by Trump last week as “semi-routine.” No official details have been released regarding their discussions.
Prior peace talks involving the US, Ukraine, and Russia, as well as separate European discussions in Paris, ultimately failed to resolve key disagreements concerning territorial boundaries and security guarantees for Ukraine. As fighting intensifies, Ukraine has cited a shortage of interceptor missiles while focusing its own strikes on Russian economic infrastructure.
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