Fresh momentum is building behind U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to end the nearly three-year-long Russia-Ukraine war, as two top American envoys are set to travel to both Moscow and Kyiv this weekend for the first time in their shuttle diplomacy mission.
Jared Kushner, former U.S. president Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor, and veteran negotiator Steve Witkoff have spearheaded Trump’s ongoing push to broker a durable ceasefire and lasting peace agreement between the two warring nations. Multiple anonymous U.S. officials confirmed to Axios that the pair will hold one-on-one talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow this Saturday, before traveling to Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy the following Sunday. Multiple prior trips have seen the pair visit Russia for preliminary discussions, but this weekend’s meeting in Ukraine will mark their first on-the-ground talks with Ukrainian leadership since the mediation effort launched.
The planned diplomatic shuttle comes amid a fresh wave of Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure just days ahead of the envoys’ arrival. On Friday, Zelenskyy confirmed that a Russian drone strike targeted the office of the head of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), Oleksandr Poklad, in central Kyiv. Poklad escaped the attack without injury, and Zelenskyy said he has ordered the security chief to launch an adequate retaliatory response to the strike.
Zelenskyy first hinted at the upcoming visit on Thursday, telling reporters that tentative dates had been locked in for the U.S. mediators to arrive in Kyiv in the coming days. Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksiy Honcharenko later corroborated the timeline, confirming the Kyiv meeting was scheduled for Sunday immediately after the envoys concluded their Moscow talks. Russia’s state-owned news agency Tass also confirmed the 5-6 September travel schedule, citing an unnamed Russian government source. When pressed for comment this week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to confirm the details in advance, telling reporters that official updates would be released once the contacts are underway.
Despite the new push for negotiations, significant gaps remain between the two sides. Speaking at an international economic forum on Thursday, Putin acknowledged that there are concrete chances to reach a peace agreement, but added that any deal first requires direct agreement between Moscow and Kyiv. The Russian leader has given no indication that he plans to step back from his core maximalist demands, which include major territorial concessions from Ukraine that would formalize Russia’s control over nearly 20% of Ukrainian territory, an area Russia has occupied since launching its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Kyiv and its Western and European allies have repeatedly rejected Russia’s terms, framing them as an unacceptable demand for unconditional Ukrainian capitulation that violates international law and the country’s territorial sovereignty. While the new diplomatic push has raised cautious hopes of a breakthrough, observers warn deep divides over core terms will make reaching a final deal a significant challenge.