WASHINGTON, Sep 05 (Alliance News): US President Donald Trump said Friday he is sending 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 marks Washington’s latest effort to break the diplomatic stalemate in Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II, which began with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
A senior Ukrainian official told AFP that the envoys were due 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.
Trump said the two negotiators would assess whether progress towards peace was possible.
Peace efforts have stalled amid Washington’s war with Iran, while Russia and Ukraine have intensified long-range missile and drone attacks, resulting in civilian casualties at levels not seen since the beginning of the conflict.
“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,” he added.
Trump did not say whether the plan would require Ukraine to cede territory, an option he has previously suggested, but said: “We have an idea for peace.”
The trip will mark the first visit to war-torn Kyiv by Witkoff and Kushner since Trump returned to office last year with a pledge to resolve the conflict.
Witkoff and Kushner have been involved in negotiations over ceasefires in Gaza and Iran and have travelled repeatedly to Moscow during previous diplomatic efforts.
Grinding war
The renewed diplomatic push comes as Russia and Ukraine continue to exchange long-range missile and drone attacks.
Hours before Trump’s announcement, a Russian drone struck the headquarters of Ukraine’s SBU security service in central Kyiv, according to Zelensky.
Zelensky said the strike targeted the office of the agency’s acting chief and marked the first attack on its headquarters since Russia’s invasion began.
Despite the attack, the Ukrainian president proposed a ceasefire with Russia for the duration of 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,” Zelensky said in his evening address.
Russia did not immediately comment on the proposal.
Hours later, Oleksandr Ganzha, head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration, said a Russian strike killed four people and wounded five in the southeastern city of Kamianske.
Zelensky had said on Wednesday that Russian airspace would remain “completely unsafe” and filled with Ukrainian drones as long as Moscow continued its war.
The 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.
Earlier this week, the United States welcomed the Russian finance minister at a G20 gathering in North Carolina.
