US Envoys Arrive in Moscow for Ukraine Peace Talks
US special representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner landed in Moscow on Saturday for talks on the war in Ukraine, according to two people familiar with the visit. They were met by Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev, and a motorcade carrying the three men left Moscow's governmental airport and headed towards the city, a Reuters witness said.
Dmitriev, who told Reuters in June that he had remained in contact with the US negotiators during a pause in their visits to Russia, took part in all their previous meetings with President Vladimir Putin. He also played a role in negotiating US sanction waivers for Russian oil this year.
The visit marks one of Washington's most significant diplomatic pushes in months, bringing two of President Donald Trump's closest negotiators directly to the Kremlin before they are expected to travel to Kyiv for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
A Fresh US Proposal
US President Donald Trump suggested on Friday that the US had a fresh concrete proposal aimed at ending the war, which is now in its fifth year. He did not, however, elaborate on what that proposal would be. The full details of the plan have not been publicly disclosed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday that the two men would fly to Ukraine on Sunday after visiting Moscow. In an X post on Saturday, Zelenskiy said Russia hit two Ukrainian airports ahead of the US envoys' visit to Kyiv.
Kremlin's Unshakeable Position
The Kremlin said on Friday that the position Putin set out in a speech two years ago - that Ukraine should cede the entire territory of four regions claimed by Russia and abandon its plan to join NATO - was "unshakeable."
A vast gulf remains between Russia and Ukraine on how to end the 4-1/2-year-old war, the deadliest in Europe since World War Two. Russia has continued to press Ukraine to surrender territory in the Donetsk region and abandon its ambitions to join NATO. Kyiv has rejected both demands, arguing that accepting such terms would reward Russia's invasion and leave Ukraine vulnerable to future attacks.
Escalating Hostilities
Since the last peace talks in February, each side has intensified long-range air attacks deep inside the the other's territory, while the war at sea has also escalated. On the ground, the front lines have remained largely static, with Russia making only gradual gains in its attempt to to take the whole of Ukraine's Donbas region.
Ukraine's drone strikes on Russian oil refineries have led to a summer of fuel shortages and rising prices for Russian motorists,, while some 30 attacks on giant warehouses belonging mostly to Wildberries, the country's biggest online retailer, have affected the consumer economy.
A Russian drone attack hit the headquarters of Ukraine's SBU security service in Kyiv on Friday - the 10th consecutive day of heavy attacks on the capital - and Zelenskiy vowed to retaliate.
A Temporary Pause
The diplomatic mission has also been accompanied by a temporary reduction in attacks around Moscow and Kyiv. Putin ordered a three-day pause in military strikes against Kyiv, while Zelenskiy announced a reciprocal halt in strikes on Moscow during the American envoys' visit. The arrangement is limited and does not amount to a broader ceasefire, but it has created a window for the talks.