President Donald Trump is sending Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Moscow and Kyiv with a new U.S. peace proposal as Washington makes another attempt to break the deadlock between Russia and Ukraine over territory and other conditions for ending the war.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
President Donald Trump is dispatching U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Moscow and Kyiv with a proposal aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, opening another round of American diplomacy after previous negotiations failed to produce a settlement.
The envoys arrived in Moscow today, beginning the first stage of their diplomatic mission before an expected trip to Kyiv.
Trump confirmed the mission during a White House press conference Friday, saying Witkoff and Kushner were being sent to determine whether the two sides could make progress toward an agreement.
“They’re bringing with them a proposal to end the war,” Trump said.
“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.”
The details of the U.S. proposal have not been publicly disclosed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday that his government expected Witkoff and Kushner to meet Russian officials before continuing to Ukraine “in the coming days.”
“This is very important. It is important that America remain actively engaged,” Zelensky wrote on X.
“We are ready to meet with them in Ukraine—properly and substantively.”
Zelensky followed Friday by saying Ukraine would refrain from conducting airstrikes while the American delegation was traveling in the region and called on Russia to observe the same restraint.
He said the temporary measure was intended to create conditions in which the diplomatic meetings could be as “constructive and substantive as possible.”
“We need to look for real options for how to move this war toward an end. We will see what proposals Steve and Jared bring and what they are told in Moscow in response.”
The mission represents the latest attempt by the Trump administration to revive negotiations over a conflict that has continued since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Witkoff and Kushner have already participated in direct diplomacy with Moscow. Both met Russian President Vladimir Putin in January as Washington sought potential terms for ending the fighting.
Their latest trip also follows a previously undisclosed diplomatic effort involving CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who made a surprise visit to Moscow approximately two weeks ago.
The renewed U.S. initiative comes after negotiations stalled over fundamental disagreements between Moscow and Kyiv, particularly the future status of Ukrainian territory occupied or claimed by Russia.
Ukraine has resisted demands that it formally surrender territory to Russia as part of a final settlement.
Russia has controlled Crimea since 2014 and has also demanded Ukrainian territory in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Those territorial disagreements remain among the principal obstacles to an agreement.
For Ukraine, accepting such conditions would require concessions involving internationally recognized Ukrainian territory. Moscow, meanwhile, has continued to make territorial demands a central element of its negotiating position.
The diplomatic impasse has persisted despite repeated U.S. efforts to bring the governments closer to a settlement.
Trump’s decision to send Witkoff and Kushner directly to both capitals represents an effort to communicate with the Russian and Ukrainian governments during the same diplomatic mission rather than relying solely on separate negotiations conducted over an extended period.
The Moscow meetings are expected to give the envoys an opportunity to present the new American proposal and hear Russia’s response before they travel to Kyiv.
Zelensky indicated that Ukrainian officials intend to evaluate both what the American envoys propose and what Moscow tells them during their discussions.
The Ukrainian president has repeatedly called for continued U.S. involvement in negotiations and emphasized again this week that Washington’s participation remains important to efforts to end the conflict.
The planned pause in Ukrainian airstrikes during the envoys’ travel adds an immediate security component to the diplomatic mission. Zelensky called for Russia to reciprocate while Witkoff and Kushner move between the two countries.
No broader ceasefire has been announced, and neither Trump nor Zelensky said that the temporary restraint surrounding the delegation would represent a formal cessation of hostilities.
The substance of the new U.S. proposal also remains undisclosed.
Trump did not identify specific territorial, security or political provisions contained in the plan during his Friday remarks, instead emphasizing his decision to send Witkoff and Kushner personally to determine whether an agreement could be reached.
“They’re bringing with them a proposal to end the war,” Trump said.
The assignment places Witkoff and Kushner back at the center of the administration’s Ukraine diplomacy following their January meeting with Putin and comes after Ratcliffe’s more recent visit to the Russian capital.
Whether the renewed diplomatic effort can overcome the territorial dispute remains unresolved.
Kyiv has maintained that it will not simply cede Ukrainian territory demanded by Moscow, while Russia’s claims extend beyond Crimea to Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
The envoys’ meetings are therefore expected to test whether either side’s negotiating position has shifted enough to create a path toward ending the war.
For now, Trump has characterized the new mission as an opportunity to determine whether an agreement is possible. With Witkoff and Kushner now in Moscow, the next stage of the effort will depend on Russia’s response to the American proposal and whether the envoys can carry meaningful progress to Kyiv.
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