US envoys Witkoff, Kushner in Moscow for Ukraine peace push
US envoys Witkoff and Kushner arrive in Moscow for Ukraine peace talks, met by Russian envoy Dmitriev; Kyiv visit set for Sunday.
US special representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner landed in Moscow on Saturday for talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, according to two people familiar with the visit. They were received at the airport by Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev, and a motorcade carrying the three men was seen heading toward the city.
Dmitriev, who has maintained contact with US negotiators during a pause in their visits to Russia, has been part of all previous meetings between the American envoys and President Vladimir Putin. He also helped negotiate US sanction waivers for Russian oil earlier this year.
The visit comes a day after President Donald Trump suggested the US had a fresh, concrete proposal to end the conflict, now in its fifth year, though he did not provide details. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday that the two envoys would travel to Ukraine on Sunday after their Moscow stop.
On Saturday, Zelenskiy said Russia had struck two Ukrainian airports ahead of the envoys' planned visit to Kyiv. The Kremlin reiterated on Friday that Putin's position, outlined two years ago, remains "unshakeable" — that Ukraine should cede the entire territory of four regions claimed by Russia and abandon its NATO ambitions.
A wide gap persists between the two sides on how to end the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War Two. Since the last peace talks in February, both sides have escalated long-range air attacks, and the war at sea has also intensified. Front lines have remained largely static, with Russia making only gradual gains in the Donbas region.
Ukraine's drone strikes on Russian oil refineries have caused fuel shortages and price rises for Russian motorists, while attacks on warehouses belonging to Wildberries, the country's largest online retailer, have affected the consumer economy. In Kyiv, a Russian drone attack on Friday hit the headquarters of the SBU security service — the 10th consecutive day of heavy strikes on the capital — prompting Zelenskiy to vow retaliation.