U.S. special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are scheduled to visit Russia and Ukraine this weekend to revive negotiations aimed at ending the war, the state-run news agency TASS reported Friday, citing a source familiar with the matter.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to confirm or deny the report, telling journalists that officials would announce details “when these contacts take place.”
The last round of U.S.-mediated talks between Russia and Ukraine took place in February, shortly before the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran.
Since then, the Kremlin has repeatedly signaled that Witkoff and Kushner could soon visit Moscow again. In June, Peskov said Witkoff and Kushner were “occupied with other matters right now” and vowed that talks would resume when “they become available.”
The two Americans last visited Russia in January, when they held four hours of late-night talks with President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin. Putin said this week that “we enjoy working with” Witkoff and Kushner, and added that they were “always welcome” in Moscow.
A source told Reuters that a trip to Ukraine by the special envoys was still under discussion, with Sunday cited as a possible date. It would mark Witkoff’s and Kushner’s first visit to Kyiv since peace talks began under the Trump administration.
“The Russians don’t want them to visit Kyiv and are trying to make them change the plan,” the source was quoted as saying.
The Kyiv Independent, citing its own sources, reported that it was possible U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoys may ultimately cancel their trip to Russia and Ukraine after Witkoff allegedly “started to get scared.”
According to those sources, the envoys were planning to arrive in Kyiv by plane despite airspace over the capital remaining closed. But those plans are now in doubt after “Russia did not commit” to pausing its strikes on Ukraine during the visit.
On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he expected Witkoff and Kushner to hold meetings in Moscow and Kyiv “in the coming days.”
“It is important that America remain actively engaged,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address.
Despite the latest efforts to reboot peace talks, which the Kremlin recently said were on a “deep pause,” a vast gulf remains between Russia and Ukraine. Both sides have ramped up their attacks in recent weeks, causing extensive damage to commercial and industrial infrastructure.
At the same time, Putin continues to demand that Ukraine give up more territory as a condition for peace, while Ukraine rejects terms that it considers tantamount to surrender.
On Thursday, Putin said there was a “chance” of reaching an agreement to end the war in Ukraine.
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