US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner landed in Moscow on Saturday carrying a new American proposal to end more than four years of war between Russia and Ukraine. Sent by President Donald Trump, the pair are expected to fly on to Kyiv on Sunday in Washington’s latest attempt to break a diplomatic deadlock in Europe’s deadliest conflict since the Second World War.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of trying to disrupt the visit with overnight strikes on both of Kyiv’s airports and on a civilian target in the Dnipro region that killed five people. He said the attacks were a direct response to preparations for US aircraft to enter Ukrainian airspace, but insisted there would be “no threats to diplomacy” from Kyiv. Travelling by plane into Ukraine would be highly unusual, as civilian airspace has been closed since 2022; most visiting leaders have arrived by train.
Trump described Witkoff and Kushner as “two great negotiators” and said they were bringing “a proposal to end the war”, though he declined to say whether it involved Ukraine ceding territory. Peace efforts have stalled amid Washington’s parallel war on Iran, while Moscow and Kyiv have stepped up long-range missile and drone strikes, pushing civilian casualties to levels not seen since the invasion began.
Just hours before Trump’s announcement, a Russian drone hit the headquarters of Ukraine’s SBU security service in central Kyiv, the first such strike on the building since the start of the war. Zelensky responded by proposing a mutual ceasefire for the duration of the envoys’ trip, pledging no Ukrainian airstrikes and calling on Russia to reciprocate. Moscow did not immediately comment. Later, a Russian strike on the city of Kamianske in the Dnipropetrovsk region killed four people and wounded five.
Witkoff and Kushner, who have previously mediated ceasefires in Gaza and Iran and made repeated trips to Moscow, are expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin before heading to Kyiv. Their mission follows a rare visit to the Russian capital by CIA director John Ratcliffe, who warned Moscow against attacking Nato states, and comes as the US hosted Russia’s finance minister at a G20 meeting in North Carolina earlier this week.
