Trump envoys arrive in Moscow for latest Ukraine peace talks
Developed over time first seen 2 months ago
US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff travelled to Moscow, then Kyiv, in the latest American attempt to broker an end to the four-year war between Russia and Ukraine, with Donald Trump saying they carried a proposal to end the fighting. Vladimir Putin responded by ordering a 72-hour halt on strikes against Kyiv while the envoys were in the region, though the diplomatic push unfolded against a backdrop of intensified attacks by both sides that Volodymyr Zelensky said were driving civilian casualties to their highest levels since the invasion began.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the pause was tied directly to the envoys' visit, while Putin's deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, warned that Washington needed to show it was genuinely prepared to invest in a solution reflecting "realities on the ground". Zelensky accused Russia of "deliberate" overnight strikes on airports in Kyiv and Boryspil, which he linked to preparations for a possible US aircraft landing in Ukraine, and said a Russian drone had also hit the Kyiv headquarters of the SBU security service for the first time since the war began. He confirmed a separate strike on Kamianske in the Dnipro region had killed four people and injured five, while Trump would not say whether the American plan involved Ukraine ceding territory, saying only "we have an idea for peace".
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In short
- Kushner and Witkoff visited Moscow and Kyiv pushing a US peace plan
- Putin ordered a 72-hour halt on strikes against Kyiv
- Zelensky reported deadly strikes and a first-ever hit on SBU HQ
How this story developed
- 2 months ago New details have emerged around the Trump-brokered peace push, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accusing Russia of "deliberate" overnight strikes on airports in Kyiv and Boryspil, which he linked to preparations for US envoys potentially flying into Ukraine.
- 2 months ago Vladimir Putin has ordered a 72-hour halt to strikes on Kyiv to coincide with the arrival of US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff in Moscow, as Washington makes its latest attempt to broker a Russia-Ukraine peace deal.
- 2 months ago US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff travelled to Moscow, then Kyiv, in the latest American attempt to broker an end to the four-year war between Russia and Ukraine, with Donald Trump saying they carried a proposal to end the fighting.
- 2 months ago A US government aircraft carrying Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff landed in Moscow on Saturday morning, where the pair were met at Vnukovo airport by Kremlin investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev before departing by motorcade.
- 2 months ago Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of deliberately striking Kyiv's two main airports overnight, saying the attack was a reaction to preparations for the US to potentially fly its envoys into Ukraine during the current peace push.
- 2 months ago A private jet believed to be carrying Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff has landed in Moscow, marking the start of the latest US attempt to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine.
- BBC World Trump envoys arrive in Moscow ahead of Ukraine talks, reports say
- NPR U.S. envoys in Moscow in new push for peace between Russia and Ukraine
- Fox News Trump negotiators Witkoff, Kushner arrive in Moscow as US pushes for end to Russia-Ukraine war
- Daily Mail Trump envoys arrive in Moscow for latest Ukraine peace talks
- The Hill U.S. envoys arrive in Moscow to revive peace talks with Ukraine
Full account
Two senior envoys sent by US President Donald Trump, his son-in-law Jared Kushner and special representative Steve Witkoff, arrived in Moscow on Saturday morning for a fresh round of talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. Their government plane landed at Vnukovo Airport, where they were greeted by Kirill Dmitriev, Vladimir Putin's investment envoy, before being driven away by motorcade. Ahead of the visit, the Kremlin announced that Putin had ordered a halt to strikes on Kyiv, said by his spokesman Dmitry Peskov to run for three days from midnight, a gesture officials linked directly to the Americans' arrival.
The trip forms part of a wider weekend of shuttle diplomacy: after meeting Putin in Moscow, Kushner and Witkoff are expected to travel on to Kyiv to hold talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in what would reportedly be their first visit to the Ukrainian capital, having previously made several trips to Russia. Trump told reporters before the pair departed that they were carrying a proposal intended to bring the four-year conflict to a close, describing his envoys as 'two great negotiators' who had 'done a great job'. Neither Washington nor the Kremlin has given an official account of what the discussions are expected to cover, though the visit follows a low-key trip to Moscow by CIA director John Ratcliffe roughly a week earlier, which Trump had earlier called 'semi-routine'.
The diplomatic push came against the backdrop of continued violence. Zelensky said Russia had launched what he called deliberate strikes on airports in Kyiv and Boryspil overnight, suggesting the attacks were a response to preparations for a possible American aircraft landing in Ukraine during the envoys' visit. He said Ukraine would adjust its approach to Russian airspace as a result, while insisting there was no threat to the diplomatic process from Kyiv's side and that Russia would be held accountable for its actions. Zelensky also reported that a separate Russian strike on a residential building in the Dnipro region had killed four people and injured five others.
Officials on the Russian side struck a more cautious note about the prospects for progress. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted by the state news agency TASS as questioning how far the US administration was genuinely willing to go to find a lasting solution given conditions on the ground, adding that the situation was not moving in Kyiv's favour. The visit comes after months in which repeated rounds of American-brokered talks, including sessions in Paris involving European allies, have failed to produce a breakthrough, with disputes over territory and security guarantees for Ukraine still unresolved, even as both Moscow and Kyiv have stepped up long-range strikes in recent months.
Where outlets differ
From the full account, which is AI-written from the sources:
Source 1 (a UK tabloid-style report) puts more weight on Ryabkov's sceptical warning to Washington and cites TASS directly, and frames the pause as '72 hours' rather than the more general 'three days' used by Source 2.
Source 2 (in a more measured, agency-style tone) adds context Source 1 omits: an Axios report that the envoys would meet Putin and Zelensky separately, flight-tracking detail showing the US plane routed via Helsinki, the fact this would be the envoys' first visit to Kyiv itself, and the recent CIA director visit to Moscow which Trump called 'semi-routine'.
Source 2 gives more historical framing, noting 18 months of prior US-Ukraine talks and the failed Paris discussions with European allies, whereas Source 1 focuses more on the immediate day's events and quotes Trump's remarks about the envoys directly.
Both agree on the death toll (four killed, five injured) in the Dnipro region strike and on the Kyiv/Boryspil airport strikes, though Source 1 uses Zelensky's word 'deliberate' while Source 2 uses 'demonstrative'.
Left-leaning outlets 1
Only here: push
Centre outlets 1
Only here: ahead
Right-leaning outlets 3
- Trump envoys arrive in Moscow for latest Ukraine peace talksDaily Mail
- Trump negotiators Witkoff, Kushner arrive in Moscow as US pushes for end to Russia-Ukraine warFox News
- U.S. envoys arrive in Moscow to revive peace talks with UkraineThe Hill
Only here: negotiators, witkoff, kushner, pushes, revive
Every side used: envoys, moscow, ukraine
Headline columns compared word for word; nothing in them is AI-written.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Advocates of the US-brokered push argue that with the war grinding on and both sides suffering heavy losses, including fresh civilian deaths in Dnipro, a negotiated settlement, even one requiring painful territorial compromises, may be the only realistic way to stop the killing and secure Ukraine's long-term survival as a sovereign state. They contend that continued fighting offers no guarantee of reclaiming lost land, that Western military and financial support cannot be assumed indefinite, and that a durable peace, backed by security guarantees, would let Ukraine rebuild and protect the majority of its territory and population rather than risk further attrition in pursuit of a full restoration of 2014 borders.
The case against
Sceptics, including many within Ukraine, argue that any deal formalising Russian territorial gains would reward aggression, betray the principle that borders cannot be changed by force, and leave millions of Ukrainians under an occupying power against their will. They point to Russia's strikes on civilian infrastructure and a security agency even as talks proceed as evidence that Moscow is negotiating from a position of continued coercion rather than good faith, and warn that a hastily brokered settlement without robust enforcement could simply pause the conflict, embolden further aggression, and undermine the international norms that protect all smaller nations from larger neighbours.
Explained simply
Ukraine and Russia have been at war since Russia launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022, and diplomatic efforts to end the fighting have repeatedly stalled. Donald Trump has made ending the war a priority since returning to the White House, and his administration has been pushing a renewed peace process involving direct contact with both Moscow and Kyiv. Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and a former White House adviser, and Steve Witkoff, a US envoy, have taken on key roles in these negotiations.
The main sticking points in any settlement are expected to include territorial control, given that Russia occupies significant areas of eastern and southern Ukraine, and security guarantees for Ukraine to deter future attacks. Volodymyr Zelensky has consistently said any deal must not simply reward Russian aggression, while Vladimir Putin has set his own conditions for a ceasefire. The talks matter because a genuine breakthrough could end a war that has caused huge loss of life and reshaped European security, while a failed or lopsided deal could have lasting consequences for Ukraine's sovereignty and the wider region.
Fighting has continued throughout previous rounds of diplomacy, with both sides carrying out strikes even as talks are floated or under way. This pattern has made it hard to gauge whether diplomatic contacts translate into any real change on the ground, and both governments have accused the other of undermining peace efforts at various points.
Coverage · 5 sources
Bias meters
From 5 rated sources.
- Daily MailRightTrump envoys arrive in Moscow for latest Ukraine peace talks
- BBC WorldCentreTrump envoys arrive in Moscow ahead of Ukraine talks, reports say
- NPRLeftU.S. envoys in Moscow in new push for peace between Russia and Ukraine
- Fox NewsFar rightTrump negotiators Witkoff, Kushner arrive in Moscow as US pushes for end to Russia-Ukraine war
- The HillRightU.S. envoys arrive in Moscow to revive peace talks with Ukraine
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff’s private jet lands in Moscow to start latest US bid to end Ukraine war”.