President Donald Trump announced Friday that his special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will visit Moscow and Kiev in the coming days to make proposals to end the war.
“I sent in Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, two great negotiators, and they did a great job. We sent them in to see if we could get something done, and there may be a good chance we can get it done,” Trump said in a speech at the White House.
The visit to the Ukrainian capital will be the envoy’s first visit to the country, which has been at war for years and has been under constant attack by Russia in recent weeks. They have visited Moscow in the past.
Russia’s state news agency TASS reported on Friday, citing unnamed sources, that the visit would take place this weekend.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy also confirmed that Mr. Witkov and Mr. Kushner were scheduled to visit Kiev on Sunday after visiting Moscow.
“Our goal is to have as many constructive and substantive visits and negotiations as possible with the American side. We need to look for realistic options on how to end this war,” Zelenskiy said.
He also encouraged Russia to maintain a ceasefire during his visit.
“There will be no airstrikes on our side, and Russia must mutually ensure a ceasefire without its own airstrikes for the period necessary for dialogue to take place,” Zelenskiy said.
Efforts led by Mr. Kushner and Mr. Witkoff to broker an end to the war have been fruitless. That effort was largely overshadowed by the Iran war, which both sides were working to resolve.
There were indications that a visit would take place soon. President Zelenskiy said in a speech Thursday night that Ukraine had received confirmation that “there will be talks in Moscow and Kiev…this is very important. It is important that the United States remains actively involved.”
Zelenskiy previously said he met with Witkov and Kushner on Monday and was “finalizing the dates for his visit to Ukraine.”
But while President Zelenskiy hailed the upcoming talks as an important development, a diplomatic solution that would bring the war to an early end remains unlikely.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has made it clear that he has no intention of abandoning the extremist demands he has made against Ukraine. He called on Kiev to cede control of vast swaths of its territory, abandon its ambitions to join NATO and significantly reduce the size of its military, conditions Kiev rejected.
Moscow has also stepped up attacks on Ukrainian cities in recent days, terrorizing millions of civilians with waves of jet-powered drones that are nearly impossible for Ukraine to intercept.
Kiev has been under near-continuous air raids for eight days, with airstrikes hitting buildings in the city center as well as warehouses and factories on the outskirts, including one that produces Coca-Cola. On Friday, Russian drones attacked the Kiev central headquarters of the Ukrainian Security Service SBU.
Since these incessant attacks began on August 27, at least 53 people have been killed and 134 injured in Kyiv city and the greater Kyiv region.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has stepped up its own long-range attacks against targets deep inside Russian territory, attacking oil storage and refining facilities and commercial warehouses.
Earlier this week, President Zelenskiy warned that Russian airspace would be “effectively closed” due to the presence of Ukrainian drones. However, Ukraine has vowed to provide air security for foreign diplomats visiting Moscow.
