President Donald Trump said Friday he was sending Jared Kushner, his son-in-law, and businessman Steve Witkoff to Moscow and Kyiv with a proposal to end Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Trump told reporters the pair would be "bringing with them a proposal to end the war" but declined to describe the plan's contents. He said, "We have an idea for peace."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the envoys would arrive in Kyiv on Sunday following their talks in Moscow. Recent media reports had questioned whether Kushner and Witkoff would visit Kyiv, as the pair have made trips to Moscow to meet Russian officials but have not visited Kyiv since Trump's reelection last year.
Zelenskyy announced on Telegram that Ukraine would suspend airstrikes during the negotiations and called on Russia to do the same. "As with previous diplomatic visits by the American side, we will ensure the normal functioning of Russian airspace so that the negotiators can arrive safely," he wrote.
Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov did not confirm the planned Moscow visit, saying only that the media would be informed if such a meeting took place. Kushner and Witkoff were last in Moscow in January for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On Friday, a Russian drone struck the headquarters of Ukraine's domestic security service in Kyiv. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the strike "a major escalation," saying Moscow had launched it "during a renewed push for peace."
Zelenskyy said he had ordered "an appropriate, tangible response" to the attack. On Wednesday, Putin had described the current state of negotiations as "frozen."
