US envoys to travel to Russia and Ukraine

President Donald Trump announced on Friday that US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, his son-in-law, are heading abroad to attempt to forge a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office at the White House, Trump said the two are bringing "a proposal to end the war," according to multiple reports.

"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, as quoted by India Today and Reuters.

Trump said "We have an idea for peace" but did not elaborate on the proposal, nor did he specify whether the envoys would travel to Ukraine, Russia, or both countries.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday that the two men would fly to Ukraine on Sunday after visiting Moscow, according to multiple outlets. Russian state news agency TASS reported that Witkoff and Kushner would be in Moscow on Saturday and Sunday, their first visit since January.

The itinerary has been in flux in recent days, according to two sources who previously told Reuters the duo planned to travel to Moscow over the weekend followed by a visit to Kyiv. One of the sources said on Friday that the Kyiv leg was still not completely certain.

Zelensky: 'Locking in the dates'

President Zelensky said on Aug. 31 that he held a phone call with Witkoff and Kushner to discuss their future visit to Ukraine. He described the conversation as "detailed and constructive" and said they were "talking about locking in the dates for the visit to Ukraine," as reported by The Kyiv Independent.

"Such a trip would be highly beneficial for hammering out solutions for peace," Zelensky said in a post on X, adding that the discussion also addressed the battlefield situation.

Zelensky said "We will see what the U.S. president's envoys can accomplish" and that "September can change a lot." In his evening address, he warned that Putin appears intent on continuing the war, a conclusion he said is backed by Ukrainian and allied intelligence.

The two envoys have yet to visit Kyiv despite leading Trump's efforts to broker an end to the war and repeatedly traveling to Moscow. They were expected to make their first visits to Ukraine earlier this month, but the trip was postponed, allegedly because Trump wanted to keep the diplomats close due to the unresolved standoff with Iran, according to The Kyiv Independent.

Stalled negotiations and intelligence doubts

The Trump administration's attempts to settle the war have largely come to nothing, and negotiations stalled in recent months, according to Reuters and CBC. The Kremlin has rejected changes to a revised peace plan, and Russian President Vladimir Putin recently said negotiations were "frozen," as reported by Al Jazeera.

Most Western intelligence officials doubt Putin is interested in a short-term deal, while Ukrainian intelligence believes he is likely to escalate rather than de-escalate the war in the near term, according to Reuters and CBC.

In late August, Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Moscow in part to press counterparts there to consider a settlement, as reported by Reuters and several other media outlets.

Russian strike on SBU headquarters

A Russian drone hit the headquarters of Ukraine's SBU security service in Kyiv on Friday in one of the most high-profile targets struck during the war, according to Reuters and India Today. At least 12 people were injured in the strike, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said, as reported by Al Jazeera.

Al Jazeera's Audrey MacAlpine, reporting from Kyiv, said people in the city are wondering whether the attack could be aimed at dissuading the US envoys' trips. "It's not so much that people never expected the SBU to be hit, but it really raises the question of if Russia can hit this, what else can it hit?" she said.

Trump said on Friday that a peace deal has remained elusive due to a "personality problem" between the two leaders. "They truly hate each other. You know what hate is? They have serious hate, and it's getting in a way of them," he said, as quoted by Ukrinform and Al Jazeera.

Trump also said Russia and Ukraine have lost a combined 32,000 servicemen over the past month alone, adding "They're losing an average of 25,000 soldiers a month. It's got to be settled," according to Ukrinform. He expressed his belief that Putin does not intend to attack NATO territory, saying "I don't think Putin will do it. I speak to him. I know him very well. Putin is not looking to attack NATO territory."

A study released in July by the Center for Strategic and International Studies estimates the war has cost Russia some 450,000 lives, while Ukraine is estimated to have endured between 125,000 and 150,000 fatalities, according to Al Jazeera.