US President Donald Trump said Friday that he is sending his envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, to Moscow and Kyiv with a proposal aimed at ending more than four years of war in Ukraine.
The move represents Washington’s latest attempt to break the diplomatic deadlock surrounding Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II, following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
A senior Ukrainian official told AFP that the two envoys are expected to arrive in Kyiv on Sunday.
US outlet Axios reported that Witkoff and Kushner would meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday before travelling to Kyiv to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday. The Kremlin declined to comment on the reported meetings.
Trump said the two negotiators would assess whether there was a realistic opportunity to make progress towards a peace agreement.
“I sent Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, two great negotiators. They’ve done a great job, and we sent them over to see whether or not we can get something done. And there may be a good chance that we’ll do it,” Trump told reporters.
“They’re bringing with them a proposal to end the war,” he added.
Trump declined to say whether the proposal would require Ukraine to surrender territory, an option he has previously suggested, but said Washington had developed a plan for peace.
“We have an idea for peace,” the president said.
The trip will mark the first visit to war-torn Kyiv by Witkoff and Kushner since Trump returned to the White House last year, pledging to bring the conflict to an end.
Witkoff and Kushner have previously played roles in US diplomatic efforts, including negotiations over ceasefires involving Gaza and Iran. Witkoff has also travelled to Moscow several times during previous attempts to engage the Kremlin.
Russia, Ukraine intensify attacks
The renewed diplomatic push comes as Russia and Ukraine continue to launch long-range missile and drone strikes against each other.
Hours before Trump announced the envoys’ trip, a Russian drone struck the headquarters of Ukraine’s SBU security service in central Kyiv, according to Zelensky.
The Ukrainian president said the strike appeared to target the office of the agency’s acting chief. It was the first reported attack on the SBU headquarters since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.
Despite the attack, Zelensky proposed a temporary ceasefire to coincide with the US envoys’ visit.
“There will be no airstrikes on our part, and Russia must reciprocally ensure a ceasefire — without its own airstrikes — for the duration needed to conduct these talks,” he said in his evening address.
Russia had not immediately responded to the proposal.
Later, Oleksandr Ganzha, head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration, said a Russian strike killed four people and wounded five others in the southeastern city of Kamianske.
Zelensky had warned earlier in the week that Ukrainian drones would continue to operate in Russian airspace as long as Moscow maintained its military campaign.
Fresh diplomatic contacts
The planned visit by Witkoff and Kushner comes more than a week after a rare trip to Moscow by CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who reportedly warned Russia against attacking NATO member states.
The United States also welcomed Russia’s finance minister to a G20 meeting in North Carolina earlier this week, marking another sign of renewed diplomatic engagement between Washington and Moscow.
The latest negotiations come as the Trump administration seeks to revive stalled peace efforts amid continued fighting and mounting civilian casualties.
