Witkoff and Kushner Set Moscow and Kyiv Meetings in Peace Effort

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are scheduled to visit Moscow and Kyiv over the weekend as the White House attempts to restart diplomatic talks aimed at resolving the war in Ukraine, according to reporting from Axios.

The presidential envoys are slated to depart on Friday, meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Saturday before traveling to Kyiv on Sunday for discussions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The itinerary marks their first official visit to Kyiv since President Trump reassumed office.

The mission follows closely behind a Moscow visit by CIA Director John Ratcliffe roughly ten days prior. Ratcliffe consulted with Russian security and intelligence heads to evaluate whether internal leadership could sway Putin toward formal diplomatic settlements.

Witkoff and Kushner conferred directly with Trump at the White House on Thursday ahead of their departure. Government officials indicated that plans for the Kyiv summit had been in discussion for several months, enduring multiple postponements before the schedule was locked in.

Previous Trump-backed negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow stalled in mid-February following the outbreak of conflict involving Iran. While Witkoff and Kushner have held separate preliminary discussions with representatives across recent months, concrete diplomatic progress has remained elusive.

Ukrainian officials continue to express deep skepticism regarding Moscow's willingness to make genuine concessions, though Ukrainian presidential chief of staff Kyrylo Budanov recently signaled that formal negotiations mediated by Washington might resume by September. For international media operations and global corporate distributors monitoring geopolitical stability in Eastern Europe, the weekend meetings represent a key test of regional stabilization efforts.