Witkoff and Kushner will travel to ‘end’ Russia’s war in Ukraine: Trump

What the report says

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will travel to Ukraine and Russia this weekend in an effort to restart peace negotiations and press for an end to the war. Trump made the remarks at the White House, saying the pair would carry a peace proposal, though he did not provide details about its contents.

According to Al Jazeera, Russian state media reported that Witkoff and Kushner were expected in Moscow on Saturday and Sunday, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said they would also visit Ukraine on Sunday. If confirmed, the trip would be their first visit to both countries since Trump returned to office, and Witkoff’s first trip to Russia since January.

The planned diplomacy comes as fighting continues to intensify. Al Jazeera reported that Russian forces struck Ukraine’s SBU security service headquarters on Friday, injuring at least 12 people, even as the parties remained far apart on negotiations. Trump said a deal had been difficult because of deep personal hostility between Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who recently described talks as “frozen.”

The visits matter because they signal a renewed US attempt to mediate in a war that has dragged on for more than four years and has caused heavy losses on both sides, according to estimates cited by Al Jazeera.