President Donald Trump announced Friday that he's sending his former business associate Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner to Moscow and Kyiv with a plan to end the war in Ukraine. This is America's latest effort to break the diplomatic deadlock over the conflict, which Russia started with a full-scale invasion in 2022. It's been over four years of fighting, making it Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II.
A senior Ukrainian official confirmed to AFP that the US envoys were expected in Kyiv on Sunday. According to US outlet Axios, Witkoff and Kushner would first meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday, before heading to Ukraine to see President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday. The Kremlin, however, hasn't commented on the upcoming meetings.
Trump told reporters that Witkoff and Kushner, who he described as "two great negotiators," would be assessing if progress towards peace is even possible. He suggested that the current stalemate is partly due to America's own "war with Iran," which has complicated diplomatic efforts. Both Russia and Ukraine have escalated long-range attacks, causing civilian casualties to spike.
"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 said. "They’re bringing with them a proposal to end the war."
When pressed on whether the peace plan involves Ukraine giving up territory, something Trump has hinted at before, he remained coy but stated, "We have an idea for peace." This marks the first visit to war-torn Kyiv by Witkoff and Kushner since Trump returned to office last year with a promise to resolve the conflict. Both men have been involved in previous US-brokered negotiations, including ceasefires in Gaza and Iran. They've also made multiple trips to Moscow in past diplomatic attempts.
The renewed diplomatic push comes at a tense moment. Just hours before Trump's announcement, a Russian drone hit the headquarters of Ukraine's SBU security service in central Kyiv. President Zelensky said the strike, which targeted the acting chief's office, was the first on SBU headquarters since the war began. Despite this escalation, Zelensky proposed observing a reciprocal ceasefire for the duration of the US envoys' visit. "There won't be 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.
Russia hasn't immediately responded to Zelensky's ceasefire proposal. However, shortly after, Oleksandr Ganzha, head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration, reported that a Russian strike in the southeastern city of Kamianske killed four people and injured five others. This comes days after Zelensky had warned that Russian airspace would be "completely unsafe" and swarming with Ukrainian drones as long as Moscow continued its aggression.
This trip by Witkoff and Kushner follows a less public but significant visit to Moscow by CIA director John Ratcliffe about a week ago. US media reported that Ratcliffe warned Russia against any actions targeting NATO member states. Earlier this week, the US also hosted the Russian finance minister at a G20 gathering held in North Carolina, indicating some level of ongoing, albeit perhaps strained, engagement.
Steve Witkoff, often referred to as Steve Witkoff, is a real estate mogul and a close friend of Donald Trump. He was appointed by Trump as a senior advisor on international development in 2017. This role he held during Trump's previous presidency. Witkoff's business acumen and long-standing relationship with Trump made him a key figure in various diplomatic efforts, including those in the Middle East. Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, served as a senior advisor in the Trump White House during his father-in-law's first term.
He was instrumental in crafting the Abraham Accords, a series of normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab nations. Kushner's involvement in foreign policy, particularly in Middle East negotiations, has been extensive.