Trump envoys carry peace proposal to Moscow and Kyiv — SkimNews
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will travel to Moscow on Saturday and Kyiv on Sunday — their first visit to Ukraine — carrying a peace proposal, Trump told reporters.
- Zelensky confirmed he will meet the envoys Sunday, pledged to guarantee Russian airspace safety during their visit, and called for reciprocal guarantees for Ukraine.
- Putin told an international economic forum Thursday there are "chances" of a peace deal but insisted "Moscow and Kyiv must agree between themselves" and showed no sign of dropping maximalist territorial demands that Kyiv and European allies call tantamount to capitulation.
- Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022 and currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.
- The diplomatic push lands amid continued strikes: on Friday a Russian drone hit the office of SBU security chief Oleksandr Poklad in Kyiv (he appears unharmed), and on Saturday four people were killed and five wounded in a Russian strike on the southeastern city of Kamianske.
Why it matters: The first-ever US envoy visit to Ukraine signals an escalation in Trump's diplomatic push, but Putin's refusal to soften territorial demands — which Kyiv and Europe reject as capitulation — means the same fundamental gap that stalled previous rounds remains. Simultaneous Russian strikes during the visit show Moscow is not pausing military pressure while negotiating.
Ask SkimNews
