US officials Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to travel to Russia and Ukraine this weekend as diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the war appear to be intensifying.
According to Axios, the two US representatives are scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday before traveling to Kyiv for discussions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday. The report, which cited US officials, said the visits are part of President Donald Trump’s push to broker an agreement between Moscow and Kyiv.
Witkoff and Kushner have been central to the Trump administration’s attempts to advance peace negotiations. However, significant differences remain between Russia and Ukraine over the terms of any potential settlement.
The planned diplomatic meetings come amid renewed Russian attacks. Zelensky said on Friday that a Russian drone struck the Kyiv office of Oleksandr Poklad, a senior Ukrainian security official. Poklad, who heads the SBU security service, was reportedly not injured.
Zelensky said on social media that he had instructed Poklad to take an appropriate response following the incident.
While Witkoff and Kushner have traveled to Russia several times during the negotiations, their reported visit to Ukraine would mark their first such trip to the country as part of the current peace initiative.
Zelensky said Thursday that preliminary arrangements had been made for the US representatives to visit Kyiv in the coming days. Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksiy Honcharenko subsequently said the pair were expected to arrive in the capital on Sunday, following their meeting in Moscow the previous day.
Russia’s state-run news agency Tass also reported that Witkoff and Kushner were expected to travel to Moscow and then Kyiv on 5 and 6 September, citing an unnamed source.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stopped short of formally confirming the itinerary. Speaking to reporters, he said the Kremlin would provide information when the contacts actually take place.
Despite the continuing disagreements, Putin said Thursday that a peace agreement remained possible. Speaking at an international economic forum, he said there were opportunities for reaching a settlement, while emphasizing that Moscow and Kyiv would ultimately have to reach an understanding with each other.
At the same time, Putin gave no indication that Russia was prepared to abandon its broader demands, including calls for Ukraine to surrender additional territory.
Ukraine and its European partners have repeatedly rejected those conditions, arguing that accepting them would effectively amount to capitulation.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. More than four years into the war, Russian forces control roughly one-fifth of Ukrainian territory.
Source: BBC
