Trump's peace envoys to visit Moscow and Kyiv over weekend — SkimNews
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- Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will visit Moscow on Saturday and Kyiv on Sunday to hold talks with Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky, marking the first such mission by Trump’s envoys to Ukraine.
- Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed he will meet the U.S. envoys on Sunday and pledged to ensure safe passage through Ukrainian airspace during their visit.
- Vladimir Putin said there are 'chances' for a peace deal but reiterated maximalist demands, including further territorial concessions from Ukraine, which Kyiv has rejected as tantamount to capitulation.
- Russia conducted a drone strike on the office of Ukraine’s security chief Oleksandr Poklonov in Kyiv on Friday, hours before the envoys’ planned trip, with Zelensky ordering an 'adequate' response.
- The Kremlin declined to confirm the envoys’ visit, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov stating only that official details would be shared when contacts occur.
Why it matters: Direct talks between Trump’s envoys and both warring leaders represent a rare diplomatic opening, but Russia’s continued strikes and unchanged demands—paired with Ukraine’s insistence on sovereignty—make tangible progress unlikely despite high-level engagement. The mission tests whether backchannel diplomacy can shift a stalled war.
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