Witkoff and Kushner meet Putin in Moscow as part of US efforts for peace in Ukraine

US diplomacy has intensified efforts to end the war in Ukraine, as two representatives of President Donald Trump held a long-awaited meeting with Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in the Russian capital, where they were received by President Vladimir Putin. Russian state media released footage of the meeting, which is taking place at a time when Washington is seeking to bring Moscow and Kyiv closer to an agreement to end the conflict.

Trump said on Friday that the two US envoys were traveling to Russia with a proposal to end the war. However, previous negotiating efforts mediated by the United States and its allies have yet to produce a concrete agreement.

After their stay in Moscow, Witkoff and Kushner are expected to travel to Kyiv for talks with Ukrainian authorities. President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that he had communicated with the US representatives and that a plan for diplomatic meetings in the Ukrainian capital had been approved.

As part of the visit, Russia and Ukraine have agreed to halt attacks on each other’s capitals for a three-day period. Zelensky said Ukraine was ready not to strike Moscow during those three days, calling on Russia to adopt the same position toward Kyiv.

According to Russian state media, Putin has ordered a halt to attacks on Kyiv for three days, a measure linked to the visit by the US delegation.

However, the meeting is taking place in a complicated atmosphere. Zelensky said that Russia had attacked the airports in Kyiv and Boryspil overnight, describing the strikes as a response to preparations for the US visit. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine’s airspace has remained closed.

The talks with Putin come just over a week after the CIA director, John Ratcliffe, made an unusual visit to Moscow. So far, neither the White House nor the Kremlin has issued an official comment on the meeting.

Despite the increase in diplomatic contacts, Moscow and Kyiv continue to disagree on fundamental issues. At the center of these disputes are Ukrainian territory and the security guarantees Ukraine is seeking for the future.

Meanwhile, military clashes and air strikes have not stopped. Ukraine has warned that it is facing difficulties intercepting ballistic missiles because of a shortage of defensive missiles, while Ukrainian forces have continued to strike targets linked to Russia’s economic and energy infrastructure.