Two of President Donald Trump’s key diplomatic figures set foot in Moscow on Saturday, in advance of a scheduled visit to Kyiv that is expected to take place this Sunday. The envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, are travelling from Helsinki, where a government aircraft had landed earlier in the day.
Alongside their arrival, the U.S. press released a statement that the pair will present a proposal aimed at ending the conflict that has raged in Ukraine since early 2022. Despite repeated calls for peace, a comprehensive settlement has yet to materialise.
Recounts from Reuters indicate that Kushner and Witkoff will each meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, although no specific agenda has been outlined. Following the Moscow meetings, they will travel to Kyiv to engage with Ukrainian officials.
Ukraine’s leadership has denounced recent strikes on its airports, accusing Russia of using such attacks as a prelude to negotiations with U.S. counterparts. President Zelensky said that the Russian airfield assaults were a reaction to the forthcoming visit, while he promised the safety of Russian aircraft if they were allowed to land at Kyiv or Boryspil airports.
Travel authorities report that Ukraine’s airspace has been under a closed‑air‑traffic ban since the Russian invasion in February 2022. Nonetheless, the Ukrainian government has urged Russia to adopt reciprocal measures, citing the ongoing security concerns.
The historic visit marks the first time that Kushner and Witkoff will go to Kyiv, a development that follows the rare trip of CIA chief John Ratcliffe to Moscow earlier that week. Washington’s officials have described the session as largely procedural, while Kremlin officials remain silent on the details.
Previous attempts—via talks in the United States and collaborative sessions in Paris—failed to produce a durable agreement, largely because of differences over territory, security guarantees and the future role of committed forces in the region. The new round of discussions may shift the diplomatic landscape, but no breakthrough has been confirmed yet.
As aerial exchanges continue between the two sides, both nations report increased strikes along the front with Ukrainian forces living with the lack of missile interceptors, while Kyiv has targeted Russian economic infrastructure.
