U.S. envoys visit Moscow and Kyiv to discuss potential end to Ukraine war

U.S. President Donald Trump has dispatched special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Moscow and Kyiv to present a new peace proposal aimed at ending the four-and-a-half-year conflict in Ukraine. The mission follows public statements by both the U.S. President and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy regarding the existence of a potential peace idea.

On September 5, 2026, Witkoff and Kushner held a three-hour meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin, which was characterized by both parties as constructive and sincere. In a gesture of diplomatic goodwill, both Putin and Zelenskyy agreed to a three-day pause in hostilities and aerial bombardments in their respective capitals to facilitate the safe passage of the delegation. Despite the high-profile nature of the meetings, no specific details of the peace proposal have been made public.

Following the Moscow discussions, which included Kremlin official Kirill Dmitriev, the U.S. envoys traveled to Kyiv on September 6 for meetings with President Zelenskyy and his negotiation team. While both sides expressed a desire to accelerate an end to the conflict, no breakthrough has been officially announced. A White House official indicated that subsequent steps in the diplomatic process will be communicated in the coming weeks.