US Envoys to Visit Russia and Ukraine as Washington Seeks to Revive Peace Talks

United States President Donald Trump’s special envoys are expected to visit Russia and Ukraine this weekend as Washington moves to revive diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the war between Moscow and Kyiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday that American negotiators would hold meetings in both Moscow and Kyiv in the coming days, describing the planned engagements as an important step towards restarting high-level discussions.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine remained committed to meaningful negotiations and was maintaining close contact with the US negotiating team ahead of the meetings.

“They confirmed that they will hold a meeting in Moscow and another in Kyiv. We expect the latter to take place in the coming days.

This is very important. It is important that America remains actively engaged,” Zelenskyy said in a late-night address.

Russian state news agency TASS reported on Friday that US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and business associate, are expected to be in Moscow on September 5 and 6 before travelling to Kyiv.

The planned visits come after months of limited diplomatic activity. Washington’s mediation efforts largely stalled following the outbreak of the US-Israel war with Iran in March, which shifted international attention away from the Ukraine conflict.

Fresh Hope for Negotiations

The expected return of US negotiators has generated renewed optimism that diplomatic efforts could gain momentum, although significant disagreements remain between Russia and Ukraine.

Previous US-backed discussions have been complicated by disputes over territory and other key conditions for a potential peace agreement.

Moscow has repeatedly maintained that the territorial question must be addressed before a lasting settlement can be reached.

Following an earlier meeting with Witkoff and Kushner in Moscow, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov described the discussions as constructive but stressed that a long-term settlement would remain difficult without resolving the territorial issue.

Although Russian President Vladimir Putin had recently described negotiations as effectively “frozen”, he appeared more optimistic during an economic forum in Russia’s Far East on Thursday.

Putin said several countries, including the United States and China, were prepared to contribute to peace efforts and suggested that there was still a possibility of reaching an agreement.

“We are grateful to everyone attempting to contribute to a settlement,” Putin said, according to Reuters. “Is there a chance? In my view, yes, there is.”

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also expressed cautious optimism, saying he believed a “new dynamic” was emerging in diplomatic efforts to end the war.

Fighting Continues Despite Diplomatic Efforts
Despite the renewed diplomatic activity, hostilities between Russia and Ukraine have continued, with both sides carrying out attacks against targets deep inside each other’s territory.

Russian strikes overnight killed at least three people in Ukraine, according to local authorities.
In the southern Odesa region, a large-scale overnight Russian attack killed one person and injured at least five others, including a child.

Several residential buildings were damaged, including two high-rise apartment blocks.

Two police officers were also killed in strikes on the eastern city of Dnipro, while a drone attack in Kyiv injured three people after a residential building was hit.

Ukraine has continued launching drone attacks against Russian energy infrastructure and other economic targets, apparently seeking to disrupt Moscow’s war financing and increase pressure on the Russian government.

Russian authorities said a large Ukrainian drone attack targeted the Black Sea resort city of Sochi and the nearby Sirius district, with fires reported in both areas.

The renewed diplomatic initiative therefore comes at a critical moment, with Washington seeking to bring the two sides back to the negotiating table while fighting continues on the battlefield.

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