Two senior envoys dispatched by U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in Moscow on Saturday for discussions aimed at accelerating efforts to end the war in Ukraine. Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were expected to meet with Russian officials before traveling to Kyiv on Sunday for talks with Ukrainian leadership.
Trump stated on Friday that the envoys were "bringing with them a proposal to end the war." Previous attempts by the U.S. and its allies to broker a peace deal have not yet yielded a breakthrough.
While neither Washington nor the Kremlin officially confirmed the envoys' arrival, flight tracking data indicated a U.S. government plane landed at Moscow's Vnukovo Airport after departing from Helsinki. The aircraft had previously flown into Europe from the United States earlier in the day.
Kushner and Witkoff have made multiple visits to Moscow during Trump's presidency, but Sunday marks their first trip to Kyiv. Ukrainian delegations have previously attended talks in the U.S. over the past 18 months.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that Russia conducted "demonstrative" strikes on airports in Kyiv and Boryspil overnight, potentially in response to the planned U.S. visit. "Clearly, these Russian strikes on the airports are a reaction to the discussions and preparations for the possibility of the U.S. side using an aircraft to travel to Ukraine and land at Kyiv Airport or Boryspil Airport," Zelensky said.
Ukraine's airspace has been closed since Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022. Zelensky had previously offered to guarantee the safety of Russian airspace during the envoys' visit and urged Russia to reciprocate for Ukraine.
Zelensky also noted that an overnight Russian strike on a civilian building in the Dnipro region resulted in four fatalities and five injuries.
The visit by Kushner and Witkoff to Moscow follows a recent trip to the Russian capital by CIA Director John Ratcliffe. At the time, Trump described that meeting as "semi-routine," with no official comment released by Washington or the Kremlin regarding its substance.
Last year, the U.S., Ukraine, and Russia separately suggested that a deal to end the war was nearing completion following intensive talks brokered by American officials. European allies also participated in discussions in Paris, which concluded without a resolution. Significant disagreements persist between the warring parties concerning territorial issues and security guarantees for Ukraine.
Both Russia and Ukraine have escalated their aerial attacks in recent months amid ongoing fighting. Ukraine has stated its challenges in repelling attacks due to a shortage of interceptor missiles, while Kyiv has focused its strikes on Russian economic infrastructure targets.