US envoys to visit Russia, Ukraine with plan 'to end war'
Deutsche Welle · LC · trust 58/100
Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are set to travel to Russia and Ukraine to revive peace talks. The trip would be the pair's first visit to Kyiv since US President Donald Trump's reelection.
https://p.dw.com/p/5Le7B In addition to peace efforts in the Middle East, Kushner and Witkoff (from left) are also working to end the war in Ukraine [File: April 2026] Image: Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo/dpa/picture alliance Advertisement US President Donald Trump said he was sending his son-in-law Jared Kushner and businessman Steve Witkoff to Moscow and Kyiv with a proposal to end the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine .
"They're bringing with them a proposal to end the war," Trump told reporters Friday when asked about the pair's trip. Kushner and Witkoff have served as Trump's envoys to lead peace efforts in the Middle East as well as Ukraine.
The US president did not provide any details on the potential plan, including whether it involved Ukraine giving territory to Russia as he has previously suggested, instead, he said, "We have an idea for peace."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that Kushner and Witkoff would travel to Ukraine on Sunday following talks in Moscow.
Recent media reports have questioned whether the pair would indeed travel to Ukraine. Despite trips to Moscow to meet with Russian officials, the US envoys have not visited Kyiv since Trump's reelection last year.
Trump had promised to end the war in Ukraine, now in its fifth year, on his first day back in office, but has more recently commented that bringing an end to the war was more complicated than he expected. In the past, he has blamed Ukraine for the Russian invasion and a "personality problem" between the countries' leaders for the continued fighting.
Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram that Ukraine would halt airstrikes during the negotiations and called on Moscow to do the same so talks could proceed safely.
"As with previous diplomatic visits by the American side, we will ensure the normal functioning of Russian airspace so that the negotiators can arrive safely. We are concerned about their safety, not about Russia," Zelenskyy said.
Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov did not confirm reports that US officials would visit Moscow, saying only that the media would be informed if such a meeting took place. Kushner and Witkoff were last in Moscow in January for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On Wednesday, Putin described negotiations as "frozen."
Meanwhile, a Russian drone hit the headquarters of Ukraine's domestic security service (SBU) in Kyiv on Friday.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the strike "a major escalation" of the war.
"Moscow launched this strike during a renewed push for peace — laying bare its true rejection of diplomacy," he wrote on X.
Zelenskyy said he ordered "an appropriate, tangible response and, where possible, one that mirrors this strike."
Ukraine has also launched repeated drone strikes on Russian oil infrastructure and the retail giant Wildberries .
Why Ukraine's books are becoming a casualty of war To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
If you rely on our team for trusted reporting, please take a moment to select us as your Preferred Source on Google so you'll always see our verified news first.
Read the original at Deutsche Welle →
Open in TruthVane →