A private jet believed to be carrying Jared Kushner, former President Donald Trump's son-in-law, and special envoy Steve Witkoff landed in Moscow on Saturday to begin the latest U.S. attempt to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
The two negotiators are expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday, according to Axios. The Kremlin has declined to comment.
Trump stated on Friday that Kushner and Witkoff, whom he described as "great negotiators," were dispatched to gauge the possibility of progress toward peace and were carrying a proposal to end the war. He indicated that there was a "good chance" they could succeed, though he did not specify if the plan involved Ukraine ceding territory, stating only that the U.S. had "an idea for peace."
This marks the first visit to Kyiv by Witkoff and Kushner since Trump returned to office, with the former president having pledged to resolve the conflict. The pair have previously been involved in ceasefire negotiations in Gaza and Iran and have made multiple trips to Moscow in prior diplomatic efforts.
This renewed push for peace comes as Russia and Ukraine continue to engage in long-range missile and drone attacks. Hours before Trump's announcement, a Russian drone struck the headquarters of Ukraine's SBU security service in central Kyiv, an attack Ukrainian President Zelensky described as directly targeting the office of its acting chief. It was the first strike on the SBU headquarters since the full-scale invasion began.
In response to the drone attack, Zelensky proposed a reciprocal ceasefire for the duration of the U.S. envoys' trip, requesting that Russia refrain from airstrikes. Russia has not yet commented on this proposal. Meanwhile, Oleksandr Ganzha, head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration, reported that a Russian strike killed four people and wounded five in the southeastern city of Kamianske.
Recent weeks have seen heightened tensions, including a visit to Moscow by CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Russia's finance minister attending a G20 gathering in North Carolina. Russian President Putin has also renewed threats against Britain, suggesting targeting UK military factories after London agreed to supply Ukraine with classified blueprints for long-range missiles. He stated that any "British military facilities" inside Ukraine were "absolutely" a Russian target.
Trump, however, has maintained that Putin is "not looking to attack Nato territory," despite recent incidents involving drones packed with explosives found in Europe, which European security officials believe are part of Russia's hybrid warfare campaign. U.S. intelligence reportedly believes Russian secret services were likely behind at least one such attack.